More Than Myself
by XTheSonofHadesX
Summary: The war was over, and the demigods from both camps try to now settle into a normal life. But can Percy live up to his own promises, as the ghosts of his past keep haunting him. How deep a scar did Tartarus leave on him? Inspired by art from InfiniteCity on Deviantart. In which a certain trio tries to hookup two demigods.
1. Chapter 1

_Well this got posted faster than I thought it would. So this is the new fic I was talking about, based around an artist's drawing. Let's see, let's go through who all inspired things in this:_

_InfiniteCity-Of course gets the biggest credit for this, since I wouldn't be writing it if not for her picture on Deviantart. It was awesome, by the way. So, if you guys want to check it out. Go find it on Deviantart. Go look up InfiniteCity and look for the picture I used for the cover art. Go praise her, she really deserves the praise for this awesome piece of art._

_AdurnaJierda-the story's title. After editing it and told him I was trying to think of a title, he offered me the one it has after sharing some personal stuff with me. So thank you, my beta._

_Viria-Some of you probably know who this is. If not, you should. She is probably one of my favorite artists when it comes to depicting Percy. Like, she gets it spot on for what I imagine him looking like. Super talented. Anyways, she inspired the last scene with Nico. Mainly the part where he clutches his head and screams, as well as thinking back to the first time he saw Percy. Go find her on tumblr and let her know how awesome she is._

Chapter 1

Putting Gaea back to sleep and defeating all of her giants was a very trying and taxing experience, to put it lightly. It was something that Percy Jackson was not sure he would have ever been truly ready for, but they had managed and that was what was important. And now that it was all over, he had nothing to occupy his thoughts. It was over, finally.

Would this mean that he was going to be able to settle down? Was that even possible for him?

Percy looked up from the passing ground below them when someone touched his arm. Black bangs fell in his eyes when he removed his hand from its resting place on his temple when he moved.

Annabeth stood there with a look of concern on her face. Her tattered clothes from the final battle had been replaced over their trip back home, but the worn look in her eyes was still present. "We're almost home," she informed him. Percy just put on a small smile and gave her a nod. She pursed her lips. "Are you okay?"

His smile brightened and he slid an arm around her waist. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

His girlfriend just shook her head, staring up at him. "You've just been really quiet ever since we started our trip home. I'm a little worried."

"I think we're all just tired and ready to get home," Percy assured her.

She stood there for a long while, not really saying anything as they simply glanced below them as the Argo II sailed closer to Camp Half-Blood. From the messages they had received since their return voyage commenced, the Romans were still there. Probably partially because Hazel and Frank were on board the Argo II, and partially because there was already talk of a joint camp celebration party.

Nearly forty minutes later, Percy finally got his first glimpse of the camp that he had called home since he was twelve. A real smile found its way onto his face as he began to make out the cabins. It felt like so long since he had been here, and it was long overdue. Annabeth squeezed his hand.

There was already a large crowd surrounding the Argo II by the time Leo set it down . And by the time the seven demigods managed getting off the ship, they were swarmed and partially tackled by the cheering crowd. The most surprising of which came straight at Percy.

The second her arms were around him, Percy felt like a child all over again. He buried his nose in her long brown hair and shut his eyes. He had missed her so much. "Mom," Percy whispered, squeezing her tighter.

Sally Jackson wove her hands through his hair and held onto him like she was about to lose him all over again. "Oh, Percy, I'm so happy you're okay." Taking a step back, she ran her hand down his cheek. Percy's eyes widened when she pointed a finger in his direction. "We won't get into the fact that all I get is a voicemail to let me know you're alive, because at least you are as such." In the next instant, her arms were around him again. "Don't make me worry like that again, you here me, Perseus Jackson?"

Percy couldn't help but smile. "Yes, ma'am."

"Percy, my man!" Grover squeezed Percy's shoulder, beaming brightly. "So, I see you escaped from Tartarus. Didn't run into Medusa or anyone like that while you were down there, did you?"

The Son of Poseidon chuckled and shook his head. "As much as I'm sure I would have enjoyed her company, thankfully we didn't see her." Percy then took notice of the short nymph on Grover's arm. Smiling, Percy gave her a nod. "Juniper."

However, the next surprise was not as pleasant for Percy. Like a bull, Clarisse came stomping towards them. "Jackson! Do you have any idea what all we've been having to do to make up for your sorry tail is goofing off?"

"If you count saving the world as goofing off," Leo mumbled from behind Percy.

"Ah, Clarisse, that reminds me," Percy began. Stepping aside, he grabbed Frank and shoved the Roman demigod forward. "Meet Frank, he's a son of Mars. I think you'll enjoy hearing about some of his experiences from our trip." Percy glanced at Hazel, who stood beside Frank. "Actually, perhaps Hazel might tell it more to your liking."

Clarisse grinned wickedly and slung her arm around Frank's neck. "Well come on then, I've been nothing but bored ever since that Roman girl and death boy arrived with that statue."

Percy blinked. That's right, he needed to thank Nico, Hedge, and Reyna for bringing the statue to camp. The green-eyed demigod smiled and hugged his mother a final time. "I'll be right back, I need to talk to some people."

What was left of the seven seemed to understand what he meant, as the other four followed after him. It took them a while to get through most of the crowd, and even longer to get the confetti that Travis and Connor threw at them out of their hair. But when they reached the Big House, Percy found a very satisfying sight.

Chiron and Dionysus were sitting there, playing cards like they usually were. But in front of them, hands chained, was Octavian. The blond augur looked downright furious, his face nearly matching the Camp Jupiter shirt that he wore. Rachel stood over the blond, a smirk on her face. The camp's oracle nodded in agreement with something that Reyna was saying to her.

The praetor had an annoyed look on her face as she shook her head. She motioned to Octavian, and whatever she said made Rachel laugh. Though, from what Percy could tell, Reyna did not seem amused herself. And then there was the final person waiting there, the person that Percy had come to owe three times at a minimum ever since their quest had begun.

Nico stood behind Octavian, his arms crossed and one of his hands resting close to his sword. The boy stood in the large shadow that the Athena Parthenos cast from where it stood beside the Big House. He was also the first to notice the group approaching, his shoulders stiffening instantly.

Rachel looked up and smiled brightly at them. "You're back!" She exclaimed. She jumped over Octavian, hitting the blond in the face with her foot as she did so. She skidded to a halt and walked beside Percy as the demigod walked, until they stood in front of Chiron, Reyna, and Dionysus.

"Oh good, you're back, Penny Johnson," Dionysus droned. Chiron smiled warmly.

Percy frowned. "That's a girl's name, sir."

Dionysus briefly glanced up from his cards to arch a brow at the Son of Poseidon. "I know," he stated before playing a card from his hand.

Percy rolled his eyes. Annabeth and Piper were already talking with Reyna, hugging the girl for what she had done. Percy found it odd, the girl seemed so uncomfortable with hugging the two girls back. He wondered why that was. But that was not the most confusing thing Percy found.

Jason was already talking to Nico. The blond threw an arm around the Son of Hades, and pulled Nico, who squirmed insistently, into a hug. "Just accept that this is happening," Jason laughed.

"I will put you six feet under, Grace!" Nico growled, struggling to grasp at his sword. When he saw no hope of reaching it, his shoulders slumped and let Jason squeeze him tighter. "I hate you," he mumbled.

Jason laughed and released the pale boy. "We couldn't have done it without you, man."

When Nico noticed Percy standing there, watching the two of them, the boy froze. Jason seemed to catch on and released Nico, clearing his throat. Percy stepped forward and held out his hand. Nico stared at it like he was being offered a year old taco that had been sprayed by a skunk.

Percy wiggled his hand, still waiting for Nico to take it. Nico's eyes dulled and he held his hand out. Percy grinned and grasped it, using it to pull the boy into his chest. Nico's entire body went as stiff as a board when Percy wrapped his arms around Nico's back. Jason's eyes widened and he fumbled with his mouth, seemingly unsure what he should do.

"You were awesome, Nico," Percy said. The boy in his arms remained silent, but his hands tightened as they balled the back of Percy's shirt up. "We couldn't have done it without you. And I owe you a lot. You might have lied when you made it seem like we didn't know each other, but you did a lot for us. You got the others to the Greece, you got the statue back here, and Annabeth and I wouldn't have made it out of Tartarus if it weren't for you."

Nico did not respond. He pushed Percy back, his eyes cast to the ground with a heavy frown on his face. "You don't owe me anything," the boy mumbled. Jason stepped forward, but Nico held a hand out to stop him. Dark eyes flickered up to meet Percy's green ones. "You don't have to thank me for any of that."

"But we do," Annabeth smiled. She placed her arm on Percy's shoulder, smiling down at the Son of Hades. "From all of us, thank you, Nico."

Nico only lowered his gaze further, making it impossible for anyone to see his eyes. When he found the boy was not going to answer, Percy placed a hand on Nico's shoulder. "You know, I feel like I've been a really lousy friend to you ever since we met. And I'd like to change that, if you'd let me. You could stick around camp and we could talk."

When the boy still did not answer, Percy turned to Annabeth for support. She just smiled and nodded, motioning towards Nico. Percy let out a sigh. This was harder than he thought it was going to be. Why was Nico being so difficult? Was accepting gratitude really so hard for the kid?

Percy let out a breath before continuing. "I should have...been there for you more. You were alone, and no one should have had to endure what all you went through. So, what do you say?" Percy tilted his head to the side, hoping to catch the boy's eyes.

When Nico looked up, his face was entirely blank of emotion. His hands were balled into fists at his side as he looked up at the Son of Poseidon. But the only form of answer he got was a nod, a sad look barely visible in the boy's eyes.

Jason sighed and inhaled deeply. He ruffled Nico's hair. "We'll talk later, yeah?"

"Sure, whatever," Nico mumbled before shoving past everyone and heading towards the cabins.

Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo turned their attention to Octavian, who glared up at all of them. "Well, perhaps he won't be any further trouble to any of us," Reyna announced. "We'll take him back to Camp Jupiter, where he'll stripped of all his ranks for nearly inciting a war." She then looked to Jason. "What of you? Will you be returning? I'm not sure what will come now that Frank is praetor, but I'm sure we could figure something out."

Jason smiled and placed an arm around Piper. "Actually, I think I'm going to stick around here. While Camp Jupiter has been good to me, I just feel like this is where I belong now."

Reyna truly had a poker face, her expression unreadable as she stared into Jason's blue eyes. "Very well." She gave a nod to Dionysus and Chiron. "If you'll excuse me, I need to lock this prisoner up before the celebrations begin."

Chiron gave her a nod. Once she was gone, the centaur smiled up at Percy and the others. "And so the mighty heroes return. I don't think I've been so proud since the heroes of old."

"It's good to be home, Chiron," Percy smiled. Annabeth squeezed his hand.

He knew what it meant. They still needed to discuss their plans. The last they had talked about it, they were going to move to Camp Jupiter. Percy let his hand drop from Annabeth. "I think we all could use some rest, though, before the celebration happens."

Annabeth jogged after him when he was nearly to his cabin. "Percy?" She grabbed his hand to get him to stop. "You're not fine, so talk to me."

Percy smiled back at her. "I'm fine, I promise. Just tired." He stretched his arms above his head. "I think I'm going to take a quick nap before the feast." Leaning in, he pecked her on the lips. "You should probably get some rest, too."

"Yeah," Annabeth mumbled as Percy let his hand fall out of her grasp and walk away.

* * *

Percy was not sure he had ever been so full in his life, which was saying something, considering how much he normally ate. Percy and Jason had sat next to each other at dinner, laughing and stuffing their faces. Their girlfriends had just smiled at each other and shook their heads, mumbling about how ridiculous boys were. Reyna only nodded her head in agreement with the two girls.

Percy retold most of their adventures, with help from the others when he had not been around to witness something. It was mostly to fill his mother in on what had happened, but quite a few campers had gathered around their table to listen in on the stories.

When it came time for the seven to hear about Reyna and Nico's trip back to Camp Half-Blood, though, Nico refused to comment. The Son of Hades stared down at his chalice of Coke with a pained expression. Noticing this herself, Reyna cleared her throat and took over for the two of them.

Apparently, Nico had gotten seriously injured on their trip back after getting slashed in the neck by a harpy's talon. But a few days with the Apollo kids, and Nico was as good as new. The brown-eyed boy rubbed at his neck with a frown. After arriving back at camp and letting Hedge run Nico to sickbay, Reyna had taken charge of the Roman army again and promptly arrested Octavian on the spot.

"Just in time, too," Reyna said, "as we ended up getting attacked shortly thereafter."

Jason nudged the Son of Hades next to him. "At least your still in one piece, dude."

Nico just grumbled and rubbed his arm. Jason frowned down at the boy before taking a drink. Percy was not sure if he would ever understand what went on between the two of them while he and Annabeth were in Tartarus. And, according to Piper, she didn't understand it herself.

After the group was finished eating, they headed over to the campfire that was blazing nearby. Sally decided to head home to Paul and let him know Percy was okay, but not before she made Percy promise to come visit within a few days. Percy just smiled and assured his mother that not even an army of drakons could keep him away.

And Percy was happy to see Nico was apparently willing to be more social now. By the time they arrived, the Son of Hades was already at the campfire with Jason, after the blond had asked to have a word with Nico.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Nico said, staring up at the blond. Percy came to a halt with the others, letting the two have their talk. "You've been a good friend. Thank you."

Jason smiled and pulled Nico into a hug, which the boy miraculously let the blond do. "I was just worried about you, man."

"Yeah," Nico mumbled against the blond's shoulder. He caught sight of Percy, the pained look returning to his brown eyes, and pulled away from the Son of Jupiter.

Jason fist bumped Percy as the group went about passing around a marshmallow bag. Tonight was a good night, Percy thought, and he was glad that even Nico was looking like he might enjoy himself. He had meant what he had said to the boy. Especially after what happened with Bob, Percy truly felt like he needed to be a better friend to the boy.

Nico cleared his throat. "Hazel, I, uh, have something for you."

The Daughter of Pluto blinked and stepped around Frank, moving off to the side with her brother. Percy smiled and sat down on a log. Annabeth sat beside him, biting off the marshmallow she had been roasting. "He's grown up."

"Yeah," Percy muttered. "He still worries me, though."

Annabeth elbowed him. "After what he did, you still don't trust him?"

Percy quickly shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. I guess I'm just, uh, worried about his mental state. Thinking about going through Tartarus... I only made it because I had you. I don't even understand how the poor kid managed."

Annabeth hummed and nodded. "Maybe he's tougher than he looks."

"Maybe," Percy mumbled, glancing at Nico and Hazel.

Hazel chewed on her lip, now holding a familiar greet hat. Percy's mouth fell slightly agape. He knew that hat anywhere. "I want you to have it," Nico told her.

Without answering, Hazel flung her arms around the boy and it seemed like she did not want to let him go. "Thank you," she whispered back. "I'll take good care of it."

Placing a kiss to Hazel's forehead, Nico slipped his hands into his pockets and took off towards the lake. Percy frowned as he watched the boy go. Perhaps he had jumped the gun a little on Nico trying to enjoy himself.

Jason stood to go after the boy, but Piper stopped him. "Leave him alone for a bit," she told the blond. "I'm sure he needs a moment to process everything. I know I do."

It was nice, seeing how everyone's reaction to Nico had changed slightly. At least in their group. The rest of the camp seemed to still shy away from him, but Nico did not act like he really cared. After Nico had left with Reyna to take the statue back, Jason had joked about how scary Nico could be. To Percy, though, Nico would always be that ten year old boy that played Mythomagic.

Perhaps it was his fault that kid was gone. Just like Bob was gone, a voice sounded in the back of his head.

As much as he had done, he still could not save everyone. Percy still could not save the people he needed to when it mattered. He felt like a failure.

Annabeth squeezed his hand. "You okay?"

Percy did not even look away from the fire. "Yeah," he whispered. He wasn't. He would never truly be okay. Letting out a sigh, Percy stood up. "I think I'm gonna head down to the lake, need to think."

Annabeth frowned, but did not object to Percy's request. He knew he needed to talk to Annabeth, but he really did not know where to even begin. His mind was just constantly racing with thoughts like the ones he had just had. He did not feel like the hero everyone said he was. Right now, he just felt like a failure that did not even deserve the beautiful girl at the end of the story.

When he got to the dock, Percy found Nico standing at the edge of it, staring down at the water. "I thought you didn't like the water," Percy said, startling the pale boy. The green-eyed boy chuckled. "I guess it is possible to get the jump on you."

"Had to get put in that jar somehow, didn't I?"

Percy nodded. He supposed that was true. Rubbing the back of his neck, the Son of Poseidon sat down next to where Nico stood. He slipped off his shoes and stuck his feet in the cold water. His body was instantly filled with the sense of comfort.

"I guess I can't be alone tonight," Nico muttered, tossing a rock into the water.

"Don't you ever get tired of being alone?" Percy leaned back on his palms, his raven hair falling out of his eyes when he looked up at the Son of Hades. "Been along for so long, I'd figure you'd be fine with having some company."

Nico sat down, refusing to look at Percy. "Why change what you're comfortable with?" Percy noticed Nico twisting the skull ring on his hand. A chill spread through the air. "Don't you want to get back to your party?"

"It's your party, too," Percy told him. "You helped. And like I said, we—I owe you, man. Nico-"

The boy held up his hand. "Please, don't. I told you that you don't have to apologize. I did it because I wanted to, no one had to ask me."

Percy chuckled and patted Nico's leg, which the boy quickly drew away from. The green-eyed demigod quirked a brow at him. "Well, I'm sorry." Percy offered the other boy a small smile, a sort of peace offering. "I know we've had our disagreements, but I want to think of you as a friend. I should have never doubted you, even if I never vocalized it. You came through for us."

Nico gave him a dull look, like Annabeth usually did when Percy missed something. The boy just sighed and shook his head. "You're an idiot."

Percy pouted, crossing his legs and leaning forward. "That's not nice. I was trying to have a moment with you, man. Me, you, and Jason, we should all be friends." A bright grin spread across his face. "We could go on quests together and fight the bad guys." He grabbed Nico's shoulder and motioned to the night sky in front of them. "We could be the Dynamic Trio. Just imagine it, the sons of the Big Three fighting at each others' sides."

Nico rolled his eyes, but seemed slightly amused. "Strike that, you're a bigger idiot that I thought. Besides, aren't you going to Camp Jupiter with Annabeth?"

Percy picked at his shorts. "I guess," he mumbled. Nico looked at him curiously, but did not question Percy further.

Nico stood to his feet. Percy jumped up as well, waiting for the other boy to say something. The sound of the campers near the campfire could be heard in the distance. When Nico just stared down at his feet, Percy smiled and placed a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"We'll talk tomorrow, yeah? We can hangout and chat." He playfully punched Nico's arm as they walked off the docks and onto the grass. "Maybe you can be on my team during capture the flag. I heard Chiron and Reyna talking about putting on a game between the Greeks and the Romans. What do you say?"

Nico looked up with a sad smile. "Yeah, sounds fun."

Percy nodded back, smiling again. He felt good, this was progress. "Well," Percy began, "I guess I better get back to the party. If you get tired of sitting out here, come back and join us."

When Percy turned to leave, he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. "Percy?"

The green-eyed boy blinked and turned back around. Nico chewed on his lip, refusing to look up at Percy. The boy fidgeted and Percy could feel a sense of dread wash over him. "What's wrong?" He asked the other boy.

"I, uh, wanted to tell you..." Nico opened and closed his mouth, as if he were lost for words. Black bangs covered Nico's eyes as the boy stared down at the ground. "Nothing, it's nothing," he whispered. Percy tilted his head to the side with a frown. Turning back around, Percy went to leave again, but Nico decided to try speaking again. "I'm glad you didn't get yourself killed out there."

Percy turned to give the boy a cocky response, but found Nico had vanished into the shadows. Percy scratched his head in confusion. It was then that he noticed the ground.

The grass had withered and died where Nico had once stood.

* * *

Looking back on things, Jason should have seen this coming. The blond shook his head as he stood in the doorway of the Hades cabin. Hazel sat on the edge of Nico's bed, looking like she might start crying at any moment.

"He was here last night," she told them.

"Maybe he's just out for a walk," Piper offered.

Jason shook his head. "I don't think that's it." He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think we're going to find out him anytime soon, not until he wants to be found."

Hazel clung to the green hat that Nico had given her. Percy had told Jason last night that it had used to belong to Nico's biological sister, Bianca. "But why would he just vanish without saying anything?"

Before Jason could give a response, Percy and Annabeth came bursting into the cabin. Percy's brow wrinkled as he looked around the cabin. "He's really gone then?"

"Yeah," Jason whispered. It was best if he did not tell the others that Nico had been planning this for some time now. In all honesty, Jason had just not expected Nico to actually do it. He had to wonder if Percy might have said something to get to Nico without knowing it. But there was no way of asking without raising suspicion.

"What about one of those Iris messages?" Frank offered. Hazel looked up hopefully. Leo pulled out a drachma and offered it to the girl.

Percy offered up his cabin for Hazel to try using an Iris message. But all they were met with was darkness and an automated message from Iris. "We're sorry, but the person you are trying to reach is currently out of reach. Please try back again later."

Hazel sighed and sat down at the foot of Percy's bed. "I don't understand," she whispered. Annabeth and Piper sat down on either side of the girl, patting her on the back.

"We'll find him," Percy promised the girl.

Jason was not sure the Son of Poseidon could end up living up to that promise. If he was sure about one thing with Nico, it was that the boy could not be found if he did not want to be. He knew that from his own personal experiences with looking around the Argo II for the boy after their encounter with Cupid. How the guy managed avoiding the entire crew was beyond him.

Jason placed his hand on Hazel's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be okay. Nico is strong, he can take care of himself."

The other guys in the cabin nodded their agreement. Jason had no doubt in his mind that what he had said was true. Nico did not need protection. Another thing Percy had told him was how the crack in the pavilion had gotten there. If a ten year old Nico could have done what he did, Jason could only imagine what Nico would be capable of now. Perhaps the others underestimated the Son of Hades when they tried comparing him to Percy or Jason. A child of the Big Three was anything but weak.

Jason sighed and looked out the window. "Where have you gone off to?" He whispered to himself.

* * *

How had it even come to this? How had he fallen this hard? He just wanted to be over the green-eyed jerk. Was that so much to ask for? But, no, Nico was forever doomed to like Percy Jackson. As much as he probably should hate Percy, there was no way Nico could manage to do that.

All that ran through his head ever since he got to the grassy mountaintop was the first time he had even laid eyes on the Son of Poseidon. Even back then, Percy had been the most beautiful person that Nico had laid eyes on. Percy had been all Nico had seen as the other demigod had put himself between Nico and Bianca and the manticore.

It was all so sickeningly heroic, Nico thought, the way he stared up at the taller boy back then. His eyes wide in awe as he watched Percy's sword come to life from its pen form. Even with Bianca clinging on to him, Nico's entire world had consisted of nothing but Percy.

How could one person seem so larger than life?

Nico's hair whipped in the wind. Looking up, Nico stared out at the vast expanse before him. It was so quiet, and yet his mind was screaming nonstop. He felt like he had been thrown into Tartarus all over again with the hell that had been put upon him.

He had hoped that things would have been different, that maybe he could have managed being around the Son of Poseidon, but last night had been too painful. And, so, like a coward, he ran. Nico's eyes dulled at the ground far below him.

Why had they saved him? It could have all been over. All his pain would have ended, and he would have no longer had to face the Son of Poseidon that haunted him so much. Perhaps he could have been reunited with his mother in the afterlife.

It had almost slipped out last night, but fear had stopped him. What if Percy had laughed at him, or found it disgusting? It didn't matter that Jason had told him Percy wouldn't do that, the rational part of his brain already knew that probably wouldn't happen anyways, but it did not stop the fear that was built up inside of him.

With a dull look in his eyes, Nico stood up and began walking around in the grass. He felt angry and frustrated, on top of all the fear inside him. Why did he have to be this way? What would his mother have thought? Or what about Bianca?

Nico's eyes fell to the grass at that thought. Maybe she did know, and that was why she wanted to leave him and join the Hunters.

And to top it all off, Percy had tried to make amends with him. He should have been happy, but he wasn't. Because he knew it would lead to nothing but disappointment. No matter how much he wanted the other boy, Percy would never be his.

"Who even says things like that?" Nico mumbled to himself, beginning to pace. A deep frown had set in on his face. Looking up, Nico scowled. "I hope your happy," he hissed. "Probably aren't even listening, you stupid winged jerk."

Nico clutched at his head, shutting his eyes. His heart hurt, aching inside of his chest uncontrollably. He just wanted to it stop. Why wouldn't it stop?

In a fit of rage, Nico tore off his sword and tossed it to the ground before yanking off his jacket and throwing it across the grassy field. He stared down at his hands, which were shaking. Everywhere that Percy had touched him yesterday burned like fire.

Weaving his hands into his hair again, Nico scrunched his eyes shut and screamed as loudly as he could. The mountain trembled under his feet. All around him, the grass died and slowly spread out around him until the entire top of the mountain was covered in dead grass. Still, the boy screamed until his throat was raw.

When Nico opened his eyes, tears streaked down his cheeks. His body now drained, Nico collapsed onto the ashy grass beneath him. He stared up at the bright sky with a blank expression. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, while his hands shook on either side of him.

Still looking up at the sky, Nico whispered, "I wanted to take the statue because of you. I took you to the River Styx because I couldn't stand watching you die. And you were on my mind while I was in Tartarus and inside that clay pot." Nico reached up and wiped at his face. "I acted like I didn't know you because I wished I could have forgotten about you, like you forgot about me."

Sitting up, Nico brought his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. If there was such a thing as loving someone at first sight, it was when Nico had first met Percy.

* * *

_I know it's short in comparison to what I usually write, but this is just the prologue and I wanted to set the tone for the story. Especially the end, I thought it needed to be put in. Love me some Nico. Not sure how long this will be, but I can say that it won't be super long until that picture of InfiniteCity's comes to life in this story. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this. A little lighter tone than I've been writing, but let's not really call it fluff either. Let me know what you thought. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Still short, but I think it'll be fine. Since I did say this was a side project, it makes it easier on me to manage it between chapters of Children and House with it being short. I do have some other big news to share, but I'm going to wait and let the other person involved announce it first. I have talked to a few of you about it to see what your thoughts were, but I just don't want to make a public announcement on it just yet. Soon. And as for the story, I think I'm going to stick to the three PoVs that I've been using: Percy, Jason, and Nico. Other than that, I hope you enjoy._

Chapter 2

"Fine!" Percy snapped at the image of Annabeth in their Iris message. The Son of Poseidon blew out a breath as he sat down on his bed and crossed his arms.

"Real mature, Percy," Annabeth fired back before swiping her hand through the mist and cutting off their message.

Narrowing his eyes with a grunt, Percy fell back onto his bed. This was not uncommon anymore between them, the few times they did manage to talk to each other. And, quite frankly, Percy was getting sick of it.

If anyone had asked Percy Jackson before he found out he was a demigod how much he thought his life could change in two years, he would not have thought it would have been that colossal. However, given all that he has now experienced, Percy was not surprised at all by how far he and Annabeth had drifted apart. And that was just his personal life.

Percy was now eighteen years old, nineteen in just two more months. He had grown another inch, though his muscular structure had remained fairly the same. His short black hair was still an untidy mess, with his bangs reaching his eyebrows. And he had started living at camp year round, save for every now and then when he would stay a few nights with his mother and Paul every month.

And now he helped Chiron with running Camp Half-Blood, which was where the differences truly began to occur.

Per their discussions while trying to stop Gaea, Annabeth had wanted to move out to Camp Jupiter, and Percy had gone along with her. For a time. He had tried that life, trying to settle down and starting a life with Annabeth. But he wasn't happy, and the couple soon realized that.

Annabeth tried to change some things in their daily routines, tried to keep Percy preoccupied. Reyna had even agreed to let Percy teach lessons. But no matter the change, Percy was still unhappy. And as the days passed, he drew more in on himself and closed himself off from everyone around him, including Annabeth.

She tried so hard to reach out to him, but Percy usually ended up snapping at her. His true colors of being a child of the Big Three had shined bright during his time at Camp Jupiter. Within two weeks, Reyna had to remove him from combat training due to several severe injuries to the campers. And instead of just agreeing or pouting at Annabeth, Percy had started to argue back. Very passionately and with use of a lot of colorful language that Annabeth had said she did not appreciate.

Eventually, Percy had told Annabeth that he was returning to Camp Half-Blood. With one final plea, Annabeth had tried to convince him to stay, but the Son of Poseidon was too consumed with his failures and his time in Tartarus to hear her out. And as time passed, he only got worse.

It had started out with just Bob, but soon Percy started to reflect on every person he had let down: Bianca, Zoë, Luke, Nico, Damasen, and so on. Annabeth had tried to convince him that a lot of those were not his fault, but Percy refused to listen to her. And after a talk—and by talk he meant fight—Annabeth had announced that she felt they needed to take a break. Percy had agreed to it and left for Camp Half-Blood the next day.

They did not talk for two weeks after that.

A few months later, Annabeth came to camp to drop off some plans with Malcolm and pick up some things she had left behind. Percy and her talked, and the two made up for a little while. During her time there, the blonde began to wonder if perhaps one of those curses had stuck on Percy in Tartarus. Chiron did not have any answers. They ended up going to Will, who claimed that it was very likely that Percy was just suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"It would not be uncommon," Will had said, "considering what all Percy has gone through."

It did not take long for the couple to start fighting again while Annabeth was there. Percy told Annabeth that he had no intentions of going back to Camp Jupiter with her. On her last night there, while the two were sitting on the docks, the two mutually decided it would be best if they just broke up and tried to move on.

"I still want to be friends," Annabeth had said, reaching out to touch Percy's hand.

Percy's eyes were not even focused on her, too busy staring at the water. "Yeah," he had mumbled in return.

As months passed, there was no sign of the two getting back together. Every time he talked to her, Percy and Annabeth usually ended up in a fight. Percy slowly got worse, consuming himself in depression and began to get aggressive when anyone called him a hero.

How could anyone call him that, with how many people he failed to achieve what he had?

Nico had been right all those years ago. He was no hero, he was a failure. Selfish and unable to save those that he needed to when the time came. He did not deserve his praise, the Son of Poseidon told himself. Even his failure to save his mother from getting taken by the minotaur came back to haunt him, even when his mother insisted that Percy had saved her in the end.

"You should have never gotten taken in the first place," Percy had said with clenched fists.

No one was able to reach him, even though everyone at camp had tried. Jason and Percy taught sword fighting lessons together, and after they were done the blond usually tried to see if Percy wanted to talk about things. Jason always got turned down and Percy usually insisted that he was fine. While Percy stopped being so physically aggressive with the campers, Percy had become passive-aggressive and usually stuck to small verbal abuse.

They needed to toughen up so that they would not be a failure like him, Percy rationalized.

Percy let his hand fall above his head with a sigh. Why couldn't he just be happy again? Annabeth had been everything to him, and now he could not even manage talking with her five minutes before they found something to argue about.

He cracked an eye open when there was a knock on his cabin door. "Come in," Percy called out.

A second later, Jason poked his head inside. "There you are." A quick glance over the teenager on the bed and Jason tilted his head to the side. "You okay there, Percy?"

Percy does not respond. Instead, the Son of Poseidon rolled onto his stomach and grunted loudly into his mattress. Jason sighed and stepped into the cabin to sit on the edge of Percy's bed. "Why are girls so frustrating," Percy finally mumbled.

The blond reached out and patted his friend on the back. "Believe me, I know the pain. You're talking to a guy dating a daughter of Aphrodite." He grinned when Percy tilted his head to look at him. "I mean, I have to fear for my manhood every time she drops in for a visit."

"You wonder what would happen if you made Piper unhappy?"

Jason paled. "I try not to think about it." He sighed and leaned back to lay beside Percy. "My point is that I know about girl problems."

"Yet you're happy with Piper," Percy mumbled, crossing his arms under his chin.

The Son of Jupiter gave a small nod. "I know." He clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Cheer up, man. You're technically broken up, so you shouldn't have to worry so much about it."

"Try telling her that." Percy pointed towards the fountain in his room, where the image of Annabeth had been just moments before. He then frowned and turned back to Jason. "What do you mean 'technically'?"

Jason chewed on his lip and fidgeted slightly. "Nothing," he mumbled and fiddled with his hands. "Just...you know, Piper was kind of hoping you two might get back together."

Percy sighed and jumped to his feet. "Don't see it happening, man." Standing in front of the blond, Percy stretched his arms above his head. "Anything for me to do today?"

The blond eyed him cautiously. "Um, Chiron said it was okay for you to take the day off, maybe see Will."

Percy narrowed his eyes at his friend and crossed his arms. "I don't-"

"You snapped at a bunch of first years over not knowing how to properly hold a sword." Jason chuckled and stood up, tilting his head to the side. "And, just yesterday, you made a girl cry when she messed up on saddling her pegasus."

Percy smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you know, just trying to make sure she learned." He sighed when Jason gave him a look. "I'm fine, really."

That did not seem to convince Jason. "You don't have to pretend with me, Percy. It's just the two of us." He shot the raven-haired Son of Poseidon a concerned look. "Don't say you're okay if you're not."

Still trying to keep up appearances, Percy just smiled. "I promise, I'm fine." He grabbed Riptide off his nightstand and slipped the pen into his pocket. "I'll see you in a bit, I think I'm going to go down to the lake for a swim."

Jason watched until Percy had the door open. The blond finally let out a grunt and nodded. "All right, I'll talk to you later. Try not to lecture the fish too much."

Percy shot the blond a glare as Jason exited the cabin and Percy shut the door. "That's harsh, bro."

"Just calling it as I see it."

* * *

"So, how did it go?"

Jason sat down next to Piper, who was looking at him expectantly. "Fine," the blond replied simply.

Piper was not at all convinced. "I just worry about him, that's all." She looked across the table, where Calypso and Leo were were sitting. "Am I wrong to be concerned?"

Making good on his promise, Leo had left camp for a while after Reyna took her camp back to California. Nearly a week later, Leo showed back up with the immortal girl. Percy and Annabeth had not left for Camp Jupiter at that point, so it had clearly caused some tension around the camp. Jason was not sure he had ever seen Annabeth jealous before, but he sure got to see the green colors on the girl. Percy had just started chuckling nervously the second the green-eyed demigod had spotted the two entering camp.

And then it had taken Jason over a year to convince Leo to man up enough to ask the girl out. For all his talk about being suave with the ladies, it sure did take a lot of pushing on Jason and Piper's part to get their friend to go after the girl.

Leo shrugged, his hands busy tinkering with a small, mechanical box. "Dude seems fine to me." Calypso rolled her eyes and elbowed Leo in the arm, causing the small boy to drop his tools. "Ow!" He looked up exasperatedly. "What?"

"Boys," Calypso mumbled. Piper nodded in agreement.

Jason shot Leo a small grin. "Sorry, Pipes, but it doesn't look like you're going to manage playing matchmaker with the two of them any time soon."

"I'll be the judge of that," came a very soothing—and very scary—female voice. Jason instantly tensed, recognizing where he had heard it before.

Out of nowhere, Aphrodite appeared on the other side of Piper. She sat there in a simple pair of jeans and a loose-fitting shirt that fell off of her right shoulder. Her black hair had been tied back into a ponytail. Jason always preferred seeing the goddess around Piper, as Aphrodite always went without trying to overdo her appearance.

"Hello, mother," Piper said cautiously.

Leo's hands gripped the table, while Calypso narrowed her eyes. Jason couldn't really blame her, seeing as how she probably blamed Piper's mother for most of the heroes that came to her island and were then ripped away from her. Jason's own shoulders were rigid and he had to catch himself before he fell backwards.

Scrunching her lips, the goddess reached out and cupped Jason's chin. "Jason dear, you don't look so good." She smiled and patted his cheek. Jason had the feeling she knew she caused him unease. At least her attention was taken off of Jason to focus on Piper instead. "Now, I hear you've taken an interest in your friends' love lives."

Piper let out a sigh and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. "I just wish Percy would cheer up. He and Annabeth were so good together, and I hate seeing them fight so much."

The goddess sighed in contentment and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Isn't it marvelous? I did tell Percy Jackson that his love life would be nothing short of a true epic. And did I not deliver on that?"

"You did something," Calypso grumbled. Aphrodite did not seem to notice she was probably stepping on a sore spot. When she found herself ignored by the goddess, Calypso grabbed Leo by the arm, nearly causing the demigod to drop his tools again. "Come on, Leo, you can show me what your latest project you're working on is. I don't think I want to hear or be part of this."

Aphrodite smiled and waved at them. "Ah, young love." She smiled and turned back to her daughter and Jason. "They can thank me later."

Jason doubted Aphrodite was going to get that thanks.

"Anyways," Aphrodite continued, "I'm not yet done with Percy Jackson. He's gone through his heartache, but I feel it's time for the big finish."

Piper frowned at her mother. "It's not a game, mother."

"But he's just so desirable. Who wouldn't want the chance of being with Percy Jackson. I feel I could make a very long list of candidates."

"I don't like where this is going," Jason mumbled. If anything, he was probably going to get caught in the middle of all this. It wouldn't be that big a change from what Piper was already putting him through, though. How did he go from hero to matchmaker?

Piper shook her head. "Tartarus has just taken its toll on Percy. I mean, he's had several girls, and even a few boys trying to go after him, but he just ignores them all." She bobs her head slightly, realizing what she had just said. "Well, more than usual. I swear, that boy is very oblivious when it comes to romantic feelings."

Aphrodite took her hair down from the ponytail, only to put it back up in another one. "Percy just needs someone to relate to, someone that can understand him." A very worrying smirk crossed the goddess's lips. "Someone who has shared in his torture. The end game that I stumbled across while you guys were traveling towards Epirus."

Jason felt his stomach twist into a knot. She wasn't going where he thought she was with this, was she? The blond had a very sinking suspicion he wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed. And to make it all worse, Aphrodite's eyes fell on him with a knowing smile. The blond paled substantially.

The Daughter of Aphrodite sighed and shook her head. "Annabeth went through Tartarus with him, she knows what's bothering Percy, but he refuses to talk to her. They just end up fighting."

Aphrodite stroked her daughter's hair. "Oh, my sweet Piper, I had someone else in mind, someone to make this story oh so much more interesting. Because, what's a true love story without a good twist?" She smiled again at Jason. "Oh, no, I have something much better inside for our dear Percy Jackson."

That did not seem to sway Piper. The girl shook her head. "He loved Annabeth, or still does, but he drew away from her. I don't see how anyone could reach out to him, if she couldn't."

Aphrodite smiled and stood to her feet. Pulling out a mirror to inspect herself, the goddess shook her head. "There is another, one that went into Tartarus and made it out alive," she said before disappearing.

Piper wasted no time in turning to Jason. "Was she talking about-"

"No one has seen him in two years," the blond reminded her. He sighed. "I don't know what your mother is planning, but I have a very bad feeling about this."

Piper smirked and hopped to her feet. "Don't worry so much." She tapped her lips as Jason stood up beside her. "Wait, so does that mean Nico is...?"

"Let's just keep this moment in mind for later." Jason rubbed his temple. "I need you to be my witness when I have a very angry son of Hades trying to drag me to the Underworld with an army of skeletons."

Piper smiled and patted his shoulder. She bit down on her lip in excitement as she took off towards the showers. Jason jogged to keep up with her. "So, wait, Nico has a crush on Percy?"

Jason let out a groan. "I knew I wasn't going to like this."

Piper rolled her eyes and shoved her boyfriend into the bathrooms. "Come on, you need to send our long lost friend a message."

"Me?" Jason asked, his eyes wide. "Oh no, he's going to kill me when he finds out about this. He's going to accuse me of telling you and then hate me for going along with this."

Piper just gave him a look and Jason knew he wasn't going to win this argument. "That's an exaggeration. Besides, you were closer to Nico than any of us, save for Hazel."

Jason flailed his arms. "Can't we ask her first?"

"I ask her every time I talk to her, thank you very much." Piper pulled out a drachma and handed it to Jason. "Hazel hasn't seen Nico since he disappeared."

Jason let out a groan as he tossed the drachma into the shower after Piper turned it on. "This isn't going to end well. "Nico di Angelo," he called out when the Iris message started. It did not take long for them to receive the usual black image.

This was standard. After the first time they had tried two years ago, the day Nico had disappeared, every time they tried to contact Nico, they were met by nothing but darkness. No response. No light. No sign of movement. Nothing. Hazel and Jason had left Nico tons of messages, hoping the boy was receiving them. But, after a while, Jason had given up, though Hazel had kept at it. At most, Jason just tried messaging the boy once a month, just without leaving a message.

Letting out a sigh, his shoulder hung in defeat, Jason addressed the Iris message. "Nico, I'm not sure if you're going to get this, but we want you to come back to camp. Please? It's been two years and none of us have heard from you." The blond glanced at Piper, who was out of view from the Iris message. She urged him on. "Percy's not doing so good, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind dropping by to talk to him? I, uh, miss seeing you, man, so please let us know something." Nothing. The message just remained black. "Percy needs help."

* * *

Dark brown eyes stared at the sad expression on his friend's face through the mist in front of him. Pale hands lace together in front of his face. Pursing his lips, a sixteen year old Nico leans back on the floor of his current house. Shaking his head, Nico waves his hand through the mist and cuts Jason's message off.

Over the course of two years, there was not many places in the world that Nico had not lived at for different amounts of times. He had lived in Florida for about two months last year, while he had spent only a week in Australia. The longest he had spent in one place had been Italy, where he currently resided. Nearly a full year here and Nico had still managed to stay off the grid.

Having a father that was the god of wealth had its perks, Nico supposed.

Hades had just grumbled and nodded when Nico pleaded with him to not even reveal his locations to Hazel. He just wanted to disappear, and it had worked so far. Nico climbed into a desk chair behind him, an open book laying on its surface.

Nico tensed when he heard movement from the kitchen. Color drained from the teen's face when none other than Percy Jackson strolled into the room with a bag of chips in his hands. "You look upset about something," the green-eyed boy noted.

"You're not real," Nico whispered.

Percy tilted his head to the side. "That's not a very nice way to greet your concerned boyfriend." The object of Nico's affection smirked as he sat down on the desk in front of Nico. He held out the bag, offering it to the shorter boy. "Chip?"

"I- Boyfriend?" Nico glanced from the chips to Percy's face. "But you're not-"

Percy pouted at him, the pout that managed to win him nearly any argument. "You don't want me anymore?" Percy began to lean in, reaching out to brush some of Nico's hair from the boy's face. "I missed you while I was out today."

Nico's breathing picked up as Percy drew closer to his face. His eyes became half-lidded as he watched Percy's lips, mere inches from his face. Percy slid his hand to rest on the back of Nico's neck, his famous smile on his lips. The Son of Poseidon closed his eyes and moved to press their lips together. Nico felt himself lean in to meet the Son of Poseidon.

"I knew you still liked that Jackson boy."

Nico nearly fell out of his chair. Where Percy once was, Cupid now sat on the desk with a huge smirk. The god crossed his arms, looking smug. Nico glared at him.

Cupid brought his knee up, lacing his fingers around it. "You know, Nico, if you'd stop denying your feelings and actually try, you might could have that as a reality." His grin only widened when Nico pushes his chair back. "Stop denying yourself what you really want, Nico."

Nico grabbed the book off the desk and stood up to take it over to one of his bookshelves. Living alone in different places for two years, Nico had taken to reading, with some occasional video games, to keep him occupied.

"I don't know how you found me," Nico started, "but I don't really want you here." If this had been any other god, Nico would have probably shown more respect, but he simply could not muster even a fake amount of respect for this one. If there was a list of gods he had come to dislike, Cupid probably had a good chance of being first place on that list.

Cupid leaned back on his hands, letting his wings stretch outwards on either side of him. "Well, you know that boy that you tried seeing a while back-"

Nico held up a hand. "Clingy and quickly over with. And I didn't know he was a demigod at the time."

"Just trying to forget about your pain," Cupid replied with a nod. "Understandable." He smirked at Nico. "Well, he was a Son of Venus, my mother."

"I don't need a freaking mythology lesson," Nico mumbled, his back to the god as he organized his bookshelves.

Cupid got off the desk and paced a few steps towards Nico. "Well, I convinced him that I would have a talk with you, if he'd just tell me where you were." Nico turned to glare at Cupid. "But, of course, we both know that I'm here for different reasons."

"To torture me."

"Now now, Nico, don't be like that."

Nico shoved a book into its shelf and spun around to face his tormenter. "I'm not going after Percy. I refuse to get in the way of his love life. I-"

"Don't know that Percy's single?" Cupid raised his eyebrows. Nico's mouth hung agape. "Oh yes, Percy and Annabeth broke up several month ago. Plenty of time to have moved on, don't you think?" Cupid clapped his hands together with a smirk. "I know, why don't you go back and check on him? I mean, that message seemed like Percy was not doing so well."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been here, anyways?"

"Just showed up during Jason's plea, I assure you." With his hands behind his back, Cupid began to pace the study. "So, what's to stop you now? Your own fear? The fear of rejection? Self-hatred?" Cupid waved his hand absently. "All useless fears that won't get you anywhere."

Nico looked away with a frown. "I don't want to see him again."

"Now we both know that's a lie." Cupid stepped around Nico and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Why don't you head back to camp for a while, see how things are doing? You could even swing by Camp Jupiter and visit your sister. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"You and I have different versions of fun." Nico turned his head to glare at the god. "Percy is not going to go for me. He likes girls. He-"

"Is Greek," Cupid reminded him. "As you know, the Greeks and the Romans weren't really-"

"I don't need your history lessons either," Nico said through gritted teeth. He rolled his shoulder to get Cupid's hands off him. "And I don't hate myself anymore!"

There was that annoying smirk again. "I know," Cupid replied. "Which is why I come in peace, as this allows you to have hope on your end." He touched his finger to Nico's nose and the boy crossed his eyes to look at it. "You can't get anywhere if you're afraid of yourself."

Nico glared and drew a fist back. With a growl, he swung forward.

The boy stumbled as the god disappeared, his swing causing him to fall off balance. The god's red eyes lingered behind for a few seconds, until they turned into hearts and exploded in front of Nico's face. The boy blew at them and waved his hand in front of his face to get the obnoxiously sweet smell that the hearts had left behind away from his nose.

Nico drew in a long breath and crossed his arms. "I really hate him," Nico muttered under his breath.

* * *

In the darkness of the Poseidon cabin, Percy Jackson tossed around in his sleep. Sweat laced his brow as he grumbled and rolled onto his side. This was far from uncommon for the Son of Poseidon these days. In fact, most nights Percy expected to have at least one nightmare during his sleep. Which did not usually result in him getting much sleep at all.

Percy shot up with a start, screaming, "No!" Wide eyes stared at his hand, which was reaching outwards in front of his face.

Finding himself still in his cabin, and not back in Tartarus, Percy ran his fingers through his messy hair. He groaned when he took noticed of his soaked form. Being a child of the sea god did not help prevent him from sweating in his sleep. It did, however, allow him to do something about it.

Within seconds, the sweat had vanished from his torso. It did not, however, get rid of the odor and the cold feeling that had spread across his skin. Wrinkling his nose, Percy tossed back his sheets and swung his legs over the side.

Yanking his shirt over his head, Percy padded over to the fountain that was in the corner of his cabin. Grabbing a handful of it, Percy splashed it into his face in an attempt to calm himself. Even though the weird sensation after having a nightmare did leave him, Percy still could not help but rub his arm.

This was becoming too much. Letting out a sigh, Percy sat down with his back to the fountain. Maybe he did need help.

Percy frowned to himself, thinking he saw something move in the darkness. Craning his neck, though, Percy was unable to spot anything. Well, with what little he could make out. His eyes were still attempting to adjust to the darkness.

Shaking his head, Percy looked down at his lap. Just look at him, Percy thought to himself. How pathetic that the big hero had been reduced to such a state. How could anyone admire him by looking at him like this? He was no hero.

Percy held his hands out in front of his face, they were shaking. He debated attempting to sneak out to the showers or down to the lake, but the harpies would probably catch him. Unless Ella was roaming around, then she might keep quiet for Percy. But the harpy usually stayed in the Big House with Rachel, reading over any new book that the oracle would bring her.

His brow furrowed as he jerked his head to the side. He swore he saw something move from on top of his wardrobe, but it was way too dark in the corner where it sat to make anything out. Still, he kept his hand near his pocket, ready to grab Riptide at a moment's notice.

When nothing moved and Percy could not hear anything, Percy climbed back to his feet. "I'm definitely not getting enough sleep," he mumbled to himself.

Turning back to the fountain, Percy cupped his hands under the water. The cool feeling of the liquid filled his skin with energy and Percy breathed in the rejuvenating feeling that he received. He gathered up the water and splashed it into his face. As it dripped back into the pool, Percy rested his hands on the sides of the fountain.

That was when a very calm—and eerily familiar—voice came from above his wardrobe.

"You drool in your sleep, you know."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello there. So, let me start off by saying I have a short fic that I've started. If you haven't seen it, it's called Never Let Me Go, and it is a Jasico fic. Shouldn't be more than five chapters when it finishes. Also, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is awesome. Love it. And it may have some...benefits for you guys for a certain fic I thought I was gonna abandon. No promises, but I've been looking Dreams of Power over again. Also, I'm gonna try to fit in a chapter of Shadows of an Empire after I get the next chapter for Children of Loss finished. Or after the next chapter of Never Let Me Go, depending on my mood. Just know that, if I do bring either of those fics back, they will be very rarely updated. It could be ever few weeks, or as long as four months that I might write a chapter for Dreams or Shadows. So don't get too excited. It's just that, since I've been trying to keep a good updating schedule, I don't see the harm in it. That's all for now, I'll talk more at the end of the chapter._

Chapter 3

It did not take Percy long to jump to his feet and turn on the lights in his cabin. Instantly the pale figure on top of his wardrobe covered its face from the bright lights. Percy gripped Riptide in his hand, ready to uncap it. A head of messy black hair sat on top of the intruder's head, a very distinguishable black, Stygian Iron sword strapped on their back. Percy's hand relaxed around Riptide, realization dawning on his face.

"Nico?"

The teenage boy uncovered his face, wrinkling his nose and squinting his eyes. Glaring down at Percy, the Son of Hades hopped off of the dresser and stood in front of Percy, a small blush covering his cheeks as he rubbed his arm. "Hey, Percy," Nico whispered sheepishly.

Percy shook his head in disbelief at the sight of the Son of Hades. Nico had changed quite a bit in the two years that he had been gone, but he was still recognizable. He was now taller, just barely reaching between Percy's chin and lips. He was slender now, with a hint of a lean body, no longer looking as if he had been starved for years. His black hair was more tame than it had been the last time Percy had seen it, though it was still messy. But it was slightly shorter, now just barely ghosting over the boy's nearly black eyes. While he was still pale, Nico did have a healthier quality to his skin.

And gazing into the boy's eyes, Percy found something drastically different. No longer did Nico's eyes carry a sense of anger or hostility. There was no malice there, only a slightly cold stare. But it was better than nothing, Percy supposed. Percy was simply relieved to find that there was no resentment in Nico's eyes as he looked up at Percy.

Nico let out a yawn and stretched his arms above his head, practically resembling a cat as he did so. "So, how have you been?"

Percy tossed Riptide back onto his bed, turning a glare on the boy. "Really? You're going to ask that? Where have you even been the past two years? No one has been able to reach you."

The boy shrugged, slowly moving around Percy's cabin, poking around at different things. "Places. Here and there, but never there for too long."

The Son of Poseidon shook his head. "What does that even mean?"

Nico smirked. It was so strange to see, yet it made Percy smile to see. He could not really find the anger in him to stay mad at the younger boy. Nico never smiled, at least he hadn't before he had disappeared. What had happened to the Son of Hades over those years?

After he was done inspecting the fountain, Nico turned back around to face Percy. "So, when's breakfast?"

Percy arched his brow at the younger boy. With a glance out his window, Percy gave the other a look like he was crazy. "It's still the middle of the night."

"Oh." Nico scrunched his lips, twisting the skull ring that his father had given him on his finger. "I just came from Italy, and it's already morning there."

"Didn't get enough of the place?" Percy mumbled as he moved to sit down on his bed, letting out a yawn.

Nico frowned, no longer looking at Percy. He rubbed his arm, hugging himself closely. "You know, now that you mention it, I do keep running in to certain people while in Italy. Maybe I should stay away from the place."

Percy's lips tilted up as he took a step closer to the shorter boy. Nico looked up at him curiously, taking a step back. Percy arched a brow at the other demigod. "So, have you been doing okay?"

"Yep."

Not much of an answer. And why was Nico refusing to look up at him? "So, why did you just run off like that?"

Clearing his throat, Nico moved to stand in the corner closest to the doors. "I had my reasons," he whispered. "We'll just leave it at that."

Rubbing his eyes, Percy let out a groan. He was still tired, but at the same time, Percy did not think he was going to be able to get back to sleep. Letting out another yawn, Percy stopped. He noticed something else about Nico that was different: the boy dressed differently.

He did still have a piece of black clothing on, but it was kept to the black sneakers and striped black shorts that the boy wore. On his chest, Nico wore a white T-shirt with a odd pattern on it in grey. It gave the Son of Hades a less off-putting vibe, Percy decided.

He blinked and realized Nico was fidgeting. "What?" Percy asked.

Nico shook his head, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "Nothing. Um, I'm just gonna go to my cabin until breakfast."

The Son of Poseidon arched a brow at the boy. "Oh...okay." He frowned and gave the boy an odd look. "Well, are you going to run off again?"

Nico spun around in the doorway. "Why, did you miss me?"

Rolling his eyes, Percy leaned back on his pillow. "Turn the light off, will ya?" When no answer came and the lights remained on, Percy sat up to look at Nico. The boy seemed to have zoned out, though he was staring in Percy's direction. Looking down at his bare chest, Percy arched a brow. "Nico?"

The boy in question shook his head. "Huh?"

"You okay?"

"Yep." Nico nodded. "Never been better." He blew out a breath. "Night...er—morning. Or whatever you want to call it, I guess."

Percy chuckled as the boy turned off the light and shut the door. He sighed and slipped a hand under his head as he stared up at his dark ceiling. Well, tonight had turned out to be interesting, Percy thought to himself. There was a lot that Percy had been wanting to say to Nico over the past two years, if he ever got the chance to see the Son of Hades again. And it looked like the gods were going to give him that chance.

It also seemed like Percy was not meant to go back to sleep. For the few remaining hours until the sun came up, Percy tossed and turned in his bed, his mind unwilling to settle down. And just when he thought he might doze off, campers began to wake up and were now making noise outside.

Percy groaned as he sat up and ruffled his hair. He had an appointment to see Will today, something that Percy was fairly unhappy about. As much as Percy insisted he was fine, Will continued to argue that Percy was not fine and that he needed to see the blond at least once a week. His stomach decided for him that it would have to wait until after breakfast.

After grabbing a quick shower, Percy wandered over to the get some breakfast with the rest of the camp. Activities would be starting in a little over an hour, so Percy needed to fit in enough time to stuff his belly and see the camp "doctor", as Will was usually referred to these days. Like Percy, Will had taken up residence at camp year round.

When he arrived at the mess dining pavilion, Percy was surprised to find Nico already having reunited with Jason. The blond leaned on the Hades table with a frown, probably giving Nico a very long and worded lecture about not running off again without saying anything. Nico rolled his eyes and stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth.

Piper came up behind Jason and dragged her boyfriend off, depositing him at the Zeus table before joining her brothers and sisters at the Aphrodite table. Percy sat down at the Poseidon table and nodded over to Nico, who had tossed his gaze in Percy's direction. The boy gave a small wave before returning to his food.

A lot of people were whispering at the tables, and Percy could only imagine that it was about Nico's return. Nico had never been very popular around Camp Half-Blood, mostly due to his parentage. Actually, completely due to his parentage, which Percy found to be unfair. Nico was not scary, at least not to him. But, then again, Percy still saw Nico as that overexcited ten year old that asked far too many questions and carried around those Mythomagic cards.

Nico did not seem to be paying the other campers much attention, at least not like he used to. There was a dull look in the boy's eyes, which definitely had not been there two years ago. But he still seemed sad, though it was less noticeable than it had always been before.

When a couple of girls at the Aphrodite table giggled, Nico reverted more to the usual behavior that Percy was accustomed to. The Son of Hades dropped his fork and glared over at the girls, who all quickly averted their gaze. But then Nico did something that surprised Percy a little. He smirked, like he partly enjoyed the fear he instilled on the others.

Shaking his head, Percy worked on eating his food. He had a long day ahead of him, and it would a while before Percy got a chance to eat lunch. But, like most days, his meal got interrupted.

Leo clamped a hand down on Percy's shoulder. "Yo, Percy, you mind if I dip into the stash of Greek fire? I was working on something with a few of the other campers."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Percy mumbled, waving the boy off. It wasn't until the Son of Hephaestus was about to walk away that what Leo had said clicked in his head. Reaching back, Percy grabbed the back of Leo's shirt and yanked the short boy down onto the bench next to him. "Do you remind repeating what you just said?"

Leo blinked at him, like what he had asked was completely normal and not dangerous at all. "I wanted to borrow some Greek fire and build this really cool-"

"No." Percy picked his fork back up and stuffed his face with some blue oatmeal.

"But-" Leo began, but Percy cut him off with a glare. "Okay, fine. But can I borrow-"

"Is it dangerous?" Percy sighed.

The boy grinned at him, straightening a pair of goggles that he usually wore around his work. "Well, I guess that all depends on your definition of-"

"No." Percy let out another sigh. "Can you try not to endanger the rest of the camp with something you want to work on?"

It took Leo a moment, but he eventually snapped his fingers with a grin. "I've got it. Thanks, Percy," the Latino demigod called back as he shot up and ran towards his bunker.

Percy shook his head, downing the rest of his orange juice before climbing to his feet. Before leaving the mess dining pavilion, Percy made a stop at the Hades table. "Hey," he said, placing his palms on the table's surface.

"Hey," Nico mumbled, not looking up from his nearly empty plate.

"So, I was thinking," Percy began.

"Wow, I'm impressed." Nico finally looked up with a smirk. "Thinking, all on your own. I guess some of your girlfriend's wisdom finally rubbed off on you."

Percy frowned and sat down next to Nico. "Ex-girlfriend, actually." Nico did not look that surprised at this. "We broke up several months ago."

Nico slowly nodded. "Ah. Well, at least we all know now that you are capable of surviving independently from her."

Percy frowned, catching a hint of bitterness from the tone of Nico's voice. He narrowed his eyes and picked up Nico's plate, tossing the remaining food into the nearby fire as an extra sacrifice. He smirked at the dark look he got from the Son of Hades. "Since you want to be rude, you just volunteered to accompany to see Will."

The pale demigod arched a brow as he got to his feet and followed after Percy. "Why are we seeing Will exactly?"

"I have to," Percy mumbled. Nico was looking up at him curiously. "Long story, let's not talk about it." Smirking, he nudged the shorter boy. "So, how have things been, man?"

The Son of Hades did not seem pleased with Percy's recent contact with him. With a quick step away from Percy, Nico adjusted the strap that kept his sword on his back. "Been fine, no need to be concerned."

"Yeah, but you just show up out of nowhere, I think we could at least get some answers."

Nico turned a dull look on him. "I didn't want to talk to anyone, okay? I just wanted to be alone and clear my head about some things."

"Oh." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, like what?"

Letting out a sigh, Nico stared down at the ground in front of them. "You never really change, do you, Percy?"

The Son of Poseidon let out a grunt as the two came to a stop in front of the infirmary. "You know, I wish everyone else thought that way, then I wouldn't be stuck having to see Will at least once a week." Percy reached out and placed a hand against Nico's chest to get him to stop. "Listen, it's...nice, seeing you again, I mean. I'm glad you came back."

There was a brief awkward silence between the two before Nico finally gave a nod. The boy seemed a little tense, in Percy's opinion. "Yeah, well, don't get used to anything. I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay."

Percy pursed his lips and stepped into the infirmary. "Well, while you are here—even though I do hope you stay—I wanted to talk to you about some th-"

Nico pressed a hand to Percy's chest and the Son of Poseidon looked up.

Mitchell was on his back, one of his hands reaching up to grasp Will's camp shirt. Both of Will's arms were wound tightly around the Son of Aphrodite's waist, while the blond stood over the brunet, right between his legs. Will, for his part, was leaning very close to Mitchell, just on the other side of the brunet's neck. It looked like he had found something, as Mitchell was breathing heavily as Will inspected his neck.

The silence was broken by Nico, who cleared his throat, his cheeks pink. Mitchell shot up, hitting Will in the head and causing the blond to draw back with a hiss. Mitchell slid farther up on the table he was currently laying on. Will pressed his hands on either side of the brunet's legs, slowly turning his head to fix the two in the doorway with an irritated look.

"Can I help you?"

Percy frowned at Will. "I thought I had an appointment. Sorry, I didn't know you had another appointment."

All three of the other guys gave him odd looks. "Are you serious?" Nico asked. Percy didn't understand what the big deal was. The Son of Hades shook his head and palmed his face as Will chuckled and pulled away from Mitchell.

"Sorry, Percy, I was...busy, with Mitchell."

"I'll say," Nico mumbled. Will shot him a dirty look. Looking up at Percy, Nico grinned. "Will was just being nice and inspecting Mitchell's tonsils for him."

"Oh." Percy blinked a few times. "Well, that's nice of him." All three of the other guys sighed. "What?"

Mitchell smirked. "Nothing, Percy."

"It's fine," Percy chuckled. He reached over and squeezed Nico's shoulder. "So, Nico came back."

"I see that." Will looked between the two as Nico created a few inches of space between himself and the Son of Poseidon. As for Mitchell, the brunet smirked and brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. Will turned to the brunet and nodded to the exit. "I'll catch up with you when I'm done."

A small blush crept onto Mitchell's cheeks as he slid off the bed. "I look forward to it."

On his way out, Mitchell grinned at Nico with a wink. Percy tilted his head to the side when Nico turned to glare at the brunet's back. "What?" Percy asked.

"Nothing," Nico mumbled. "I just realize which godly family tree I hate the most."

Percy blinked and looked between Nico and the exit. Did he miss something? Nico refused to look back at him, though. Without saying anything, the boy moved over to sit down in a chair.

"Um," Will began, motioning to one of the beds, "just take a seat anywhere." Percy shrugged and sat down on the one closest to him. Will slung a stethoscope around his shoulders and came over to Percy, immediately tilting the demigod's head back. "Been eating okay?"

Percy raised a brow at the blond. "Seriously?"

"Okay, yeah, dumb question." Will shook his head with a smile. "So, how did lessons go last week? No...outbursts?"

Percy glanced over Will's shoulder when Nico's head perked up. Tilting his head to the side, he turned back to the blond. "Um, not really."

Will scribbled something down on a clipboard. "Uh-huh. Well, according to other campers, you snapped at a girl for brushing Blackjack wrong."

Percy twiddled his thumbs, trying to look as innocent as possible. When Will did not buy it, he deflated and held up his hands. "Okay, so maybe a little. But in my defense, Blackjack said he was about to spit in her hair. I saved her from that horrible experience."

Will slowly nodded, a spark of amusement filling his eyes. "I see." Again, he scribbled something down. "Any...bad dreams? I mean, other than the usual demigod ones." Percy shook his head. Will looked at him for a moment, but nodded.

"He's lying," Nico blurted out. The boy had his eyes narrowed at Percy. "He had a bad dream last night, woke him up and everything."

Will turned back to Percy with an arched eyebrow. Percy sighed and glared at Nico. So, apparently Nico still had the ability to talk too much. "Okay, but it wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a dream, nothing demigod related."

Will let out a sigh. "Care to describe it for me?"

Percy rubbed his hands together, looking down at his lap. "Falling. A lot of falling, down into a dark pit." He narrowed his eyes at his thighs. "Tartarus."

Will blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, tossing his clipboard aside. "Okay, well, I can always try giving you something to help you-"

"No." Percy's eyes were dark as he looked up at Will. Nico shifted in his chair, a curious look on his face as he looked over at Percy.

The blond gave a simple nod. "Okay, well, how about we just move on to an examination." Adjusting the stethoscope so that the buds were in his ears, Will motioned to Percy's chest. "Mind removing your shirt?"

Nico was out of his chair, his face a bright red color. Will looked at the boy funny as Nico moved towards the exit. Turning slightly, Nico motioned out of the infirmary. "I'm just gonna...step out here."

Percy frowned. "But-"

"We'll talk later," Nico said, disappearing outside before Percy could object any further.

* * *

Nico raised a hand to cover his eyes from the bright light of the sun. He always forgot how bright it usually was around camp. Would it kill Chiron or Dionysus to have it be cloudy for a day or two? Nico practically jumped out of his skin when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Whirling around, he found Mitchell grinning at him.

"What do you want?" Nico mumbled, brushing the Son of Aphrodite's hand off of his shoulder.

"Just wanted to talk."

Nico rolled his eyes and turned around to head to his cabin. "Not in the mood."

Unfortunately, Mitchell followed after him, trailing a few paces behind him. Nico tried to pick up the pace, at least until he heard the other boy's next words. "So, how long have you liked Percy?"

Nico froze, his eyes wide in a mixture of fear and shock. Whirling around, he shoved Mitchell into the nearest tree, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "What are you talking about?" He hissed.

Mitchell held his hands up in defense. "It was just a question, no need to get hostile." Nico let him go and the brunet straightened his shirt. "So?"

Nico glared up at him. "And what about you and Will?"

Mitchell scratched his cheek, glancing back towards the infirmary. Looking back at Nico, the brunet blushed. "Um, about a year ago, though we've not really made it public knowledge just yet."

Rolling his eyes, Nico motioned between them. "And, yet, here you are, trying to pry into my personal life." The Son of Hades narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Don't think you're in a position to try 'guiding me', when you can't even get yourself situated."

That made Mitchell chuckle. "It's not like that. We're not really worried about what the other campers will think, we are Greek after all," the taller boy replied. Nico grumbled at that. "We just haven't felt the need to announce anything yet." The older boy shrugged. "I mean, Will's father has had a few relationships with other dudes over the centuries, and my mother...well, it's my mother we're talking about."

Nico held up his hands to silence the boy. "I don't need your lecture on Greek history, I've already had to deal with your half-brother."

Mitchell arched a brow at that. "Which one?"

"Cupid," Nico grumbled.

A sly grin spread across Mitchell's lips. "Ah, well, he can be an ass. You know, not everyone in my mother's family is out to get you."

"I question that sometimes."

Mitchell gave a hum in response. "So, are you going to try to make Percy your...man...victim...whatever you want to call it?"

Nico narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, closing it a second later. "I'm not," he eventually whispered.

That made the Son of Aphrodite tilt his head to the side. "Why not?"

Dark eyes stared dully at the ground. Nico shifted his weight, wrapping an arm around himself. "It's not like I have a chance," the boy whispered.

A hand came to rest on Nico's shoulder. The Son of Hades looked up to find Mitchell smiling at him. "I don't think that's true, there's always a chance for love, if you try." The brunet pulled back, placing his hands behind his head. "Percy's just not the brightest light bulb in the box, if you know what I mean."

"Good," Nico mumbled, "I'd prefer that he stayed clueless to how I felt about him."

Raising a hand, Michell tapped a finger to his lips. "Nico, listen," the brunet began. Nico narrowed his eyes and shifted his weight again. "Percy is pretty clueless about his feeling, as well as those around him, we can both agree on that, correct?" Nico gave a nod. "How do you know he would object to the idea of being with another guy in the first place? Maybe he just hasn't thought about the possibility of it."

"I doubt it." Nico glanced over his shoulders when two campers walked by. When he looked back, the Son of Hades raised an eyebrow at the brunet in front of him. "Why are you even talking to me, or what could try and pass for wanting to help me?"

Mitchell pressed a hand to his chest. "I find that slightly offensive that you would think I'm not actually trying to help," the taller boy said with a smile. Nico rolled his eyes. Sighing, Mitchell crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto one leg. "I just found it interesting when you walked in. It was like I could see your feelings radiating by just being around Percy. Plus, I was watching from outside when Percy went to take his shirt off and you practically fell out of your chair. You know, your face can turn really red."

Nico had to cover his face, partially out of embarrassment and partially out of frustration. There was no question about it now, he really disliked Aphrodite's family. "What does that have to even do with anything?"

Mitchell chuckled and shook his head. "It's just that, before Will and I got together, I did the same thing when I was crushing on Will." He gave Nico a knowing look before he continued. "It was just torture, sitting around and watching Will take his shirt off to play a sport, or even go for a swim. But-"

Nico held up a hand to stop the brunet. "Look, I don't need any help. I'm not going after Percy, that's not why I came back."

"Sure it's not," Mitchell chuckled.

The dark-eyed boy narrowed his gaze, which made Mitchell clamp his mouth shut. "I've already had enough 'help' from your family, and-" Something drew Nico's attention and he furrowed his brow as he looked over Mitchell's shoulder. He let out a sigh as he watched Piper jog towards them. "And apparently I'm not done getting help."

Mitchell arched a brow and turned around as Piper reached them. She stopped to catch her breath for a moment before pointing to Nico. "You. I was looking for you."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I was hoping that wasn't the case." He shook his head. "What happened to the good old days, when everyone tried to avoid me like I had a plague?"

Mitchell motioned to the Son of Hades. "I think it's the new look, you don't seem as intimidating."

Piper gave a nod. "A few of the girls from our cabin thought you looked pretty cute."

Nico gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "I'm not cute!"

"Doesn't really help your case," Mitchell said, patting the boy on the head.

Nico smacked the brunet's hand away. Letting out a sigh, he turned back to Piper. "What do you want?"

Without answering, Piper grinned and grabbed the boy's wrist before dragging him away from Mitchell. The brunet raised his brows, waving at Nico and Piper as the Son of Hades was practically kidnapped. Eventually, they came to a stop at the dock, where Jason was standing.

Jason quickly pried Nico from Piper's grasp, taking the boy aside. "Listen, Nico, before you freak out, just know that I had nothing to do with this." This only made Nico more suspicious of what was going on. "And know that it was not my fault."

Nico was about to question what the blond had just said, but Piper grabbed his arm and spun him around. "So, is it true that you like Percy? Is that why you came back to camp?"

Jason slowly shrank away from them as Nico's dark glare turned on the blond. The blond quickly held up his hands as Nico approached him, his hand reaching back to rest on the hilt of his sword. "Nico, wait," Jason quickly said.

"Jason," Nico growled. He shoved the blond harshly. "How could you? You told her?" The raven-haired boy yelled.

"No!" Jason yelped as he fell on his butt. "I didn't."

Piper had to grab Nico' shoulder with a sigh. "He didn't tell me anything, so don't be mad at him." Nico still glared at the fallen blond. "I figured it out after a conversation with my mother."

Closing his eyes, Nico let out a heavy sigh. "Why can't I just be rid of your family?" Looking up at the sky, he glared. "What did I do to make you want to torture me so much?"

Jason slowly got up, brushing off his shorts. "I told her this was a bad idea."

Nico pointed his finger in Jason's direction. "Okay, I'm not mad at you." Shaking his head, the boy turned back to Piper. "I'm not going after Percy, as I just got done telling Mitchell." He held up a hand as Piper went to object. "There are far too many old wounds, and I'd rather not go back to how I was two years ago."

Jason reached out and squeezed his friend's shoulder. "But you came back, that has to count for something." He smiled a little when Nico turned to look at him. "I don't think you would have come back for nothing. At least tell him how you feel."

"Because nothing could go wrong there," Nico mumbled. Jason frowned at him. Letting out a sigh, Nico shook his head. "Look, I don't really want to go down that road again. Maybe I did come back for my own reasons, but I'd prefer to at least keep a friendship maintained with Percy. Why can't I give that a try? I'm finally happy with myself, I can finally admit to myself what I am."

"You're Nico," Piper interjected. "Just because you like someone of the same gender, doesn't change who you are."

Jason nodded. Nico sighed and shook his head. "My point is that I don't hate myself anymore, and I can finally admit openly that I like guys...or at least that I like Percy. I don't know what I am exactly, because nothing seems to work out for me when I've tried to see other people in the past."

Jason and Piper shared a look. Eventually, Jason smiled and enveloped Nico into a hug, which the Son of Hades immensely objected to. "I'm so proud of you," Jason mumbled into his ear.

"I hate you," Nico grumbled back.

"Lies." Jason just grinned. Nico wanted nothing more than to wipe it off the blond's annoying face. He was too happy, Nico did not like it. Finally, Jason released him and took a step back. "Percy won't hate you if you are honest with him. Start out simple, perhaps tell him it's a guy that you like. I can't see Percy getting mad at you."

Piper gave a nod. "He wanted to be your friend before you left, and what better way to build a friendship and have him understand you better than to be honest with him?"

Nico glared at both of them, crossing his arms over his chest. But at seeing the confident looks that he received, Nico deflated and sighed. Shaking his head, Nico mumbled, "Fine, I'll try and talk to him." He looked up at Piper with a glare. "But, seriously, I'm getting annoyed at how much your family seems to be taking so much interest in my life. I'm not some soap opera for all of you to watch."

The Daughter of Aphrodite held up her hands with a sigh. "Nico, I'm not sure what the rest of my family's intentions are, but I am just trying to help. You're Jason's friend, and I would like to be your friend as well. After listening to Jason and Hazel worry over the past two years that you've been gone, I couldn't help but start to worry as well."

He was not sure if he believed that, but Nico just sighed and rubbed his temple. "Fine, whatever." Pursing his lips, Nico looked around camp. "Let's just...get this over with."

Piper perked up at hearing that. Jason gave him a shove towards the rest of the camp. Turning around to glare at the blond, Nico grew even more irritated when Jason gave him a thumbs-up and winked before he said, "Go get him, tiger."

Nico felt his eye twitch. He was beginning to question why he had come back to camp in the first place. Or, at least, why he had come to this one. Camp Jupiter would have been far less stressful. Next time, Nico planned to keep this in mind for which camp he wanted to visit.

Things only got worse during Nico's silent hunt for Percy.

For one thing, his mind began to race, but Nico kept telling himself he just needed to rip it off like a band-aid. The others were right about Percy, and he fully knew that now. But he was not worried that Percy might get angry with him. No, it was that he was afraid Percy would become uncomfortable around him. Besides Hazel, Percy had been the only one to never look afraid of him, or like Nico might be carrying a disease. Even Jason had been slightly off-put by Nico when they first encountered each other. Did Nico want to chance having that change?

It was one thing to tell Percy that he might like guys, Nico had no doubt that Percy would be fine with that. However, it was another thing entirely to tell the guy that it was him that Nico liked. Would Percy ever be alone with him again?

And to make things worse for Nico, a dozen roses appeared in his pale hands.

Nico felt his eye twitch again. This was not helping, Nico thought as he glared up at the sky. Under his breath, Nico silently cursed Aphrodite. His breath hitched as he spotted Percy standing around with a camper, smiling broadly.

Nico quickly looked around before tossing the roses aside, though they simply returned to Nico's hand. Letting out a breath, Nico contemplated putting them inside his aviator jacket, but figured that would be too noticeable. Why did Aphrodite hate him so much?

Percy looked over and noticed Nico standing there. Nico froze. The Son of Poseidon smiled and waved at Nico before bidding farewell to the camper he had been talking to and jogging towards Nico. A lump quickly formed in Nico's throat as he stood there, frozen in place. This was not happening, he could not do this. Slowly, the grass died in a circle around Nico's feet.

Nico quickly placed the roses behind his back. "H-hey," Nico stuttered, his face turning red. Percy arched a brow at him. "I-I was just looking for you."

"Awesome, because I was looking for you." Percy clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. Nico opened his mouth to blurt out what he needed to, but Percy beat him to it. "Do you want to come to my cabin tonight and watch a movie?"

A heavy blush is now present on Nico's face. His eyes are hidden behind his bangs and he can feel his entire body shaking. A few of the other campers were staring at them, whispering and pointing at the grass that was dying around where Percy and Nico stood. Nico opened his mouth, the roses shaking violently behind his back.

"I-I-"

Both demigods jumped apart when the ground between them split open a few inches. Percy blinked in surprise before he gave Nico a questioning look. "You okay there, Nico?"

There was no way that Percy did not see how red Nico's face was, or how badly the boy was shaking. "F-fine," Nico mumbled. Abort, his mind kept screaming at him. This was a bad idea, a very bad idea. How could he let Jason and Piper talk him into this?

Percy broke the silence with a chuckle, stepping over the crack in the ground to squeeze Nico's shoulder. "If you didn't want to hangout, you could have just said so, man."

"No!" Nico exclaimed as Percy began to turn around. The Son of Poseidon turned back towards him in surprise. "That's not it. I-I'd be happy to watch a movie with you tonight."

A smile that made Nico melt crept across Percy's lips. "Great." He smiled and squeezed Nico's arm. "Come by after dinner, we can pick something out."

It was then that Nico took notice of movement behind Percy. Glancing around the young man, Nico felt his eye twitch for a third time that day.

Standing there, in the middle of camp, was Piper and Aphrodite. Normally, Nico would have grown concerned that a goddess had shown herself in camp, but Nico was already certain that she was just doing it to spite him. To make it all worse, they were carrying pom poms and cheering in Percy and Nico's direction, though the older demigod did not seem to notice. On their shirts was the word "Percico".

And to make things more awkward, Jason was with them. The blond stood beside the two overly-enthusiastic females with a small flag in his hand that bore a heart, as well as the same shirt that the other two had.

"Nico?"

The Son of Hades blinked and brought his attention back to Percy. "Did you say something?" Nico briefly glanced back over to the girls and Jason. Aphrodite jumped up into the air, waving her pom poms wildly.

There was a perplexed look on Percy's face as he attempted to look behind Nico's back. "I asked what do you have there?" The Son of Poseidon pointed over the shorter demigod's shoulder. "It looks dead."

Nico let out a silent curse as he pulled the roses from behind his back. And, sure enough, the roses had shriveled up and died, there black petals falling to the grass. He let the stems go, shaking his head as the ashes were scattered to the wind. "It was nothing important," Nico whispered.

"Taking up gardening?" Percy chuckled. "Looks like it's going well for you."

Nico's dark eyes flickered up to glare at the object of his affections. "Shut up, like you would be any better."

Percy just chuckled. "Anyways, I'll see you at dinner." He slowly backed away. "Though, feel free to drop by one of my lessons. Maybe I can show you a thing or two."

"Ha ha, you're so funny." Nico rolled his eyes. He had to question what he saw in Percy sometimes. But then the demigod smiled and it all came back to him. Nico quickly looked away, attempting to hide the blush that crept onto his cheeks. "I'll think about it." He glanced over to where his cheering squad was. It seemed that Aphrodite had chosen to take her leave. "I've got to go," he said quickly, brushing past Percy.

Clenching his fists, Nico marched over to where Piper was sitting her pom poms down on the ground. Jason gulped at the sight of Nico, quickly tossing his small flag over his shoulder. The blond gave a nervous chuckle. "You have a sense of humor, right?"

Nico's dark gaze said otherwise. "What in Hades's name is with your attires?" The pale boy growled, motioning to the two in front of him.

Piper blinked and pulled out the bottom of her shirt, glancing down at them. "They're awesome, right?"

Nico shook his head in disbelief. "What is that anyways? 'Percico'?"

"It's your couple name with Percy, duh?"

"Oh sweet Underworld, please take me now," Nico sighed. He narrowed his eyes at Jason. "And you, how could you get involved in this?"

The blond grinned sheepishly back at him. "I can't support my friend's pursuit for his man?"

"Okay, first," Nico began, holding up his hand, "there is no pursuit, because Percy will never 'be my man'. Second, I can't believe you went along with this, you look ridiculous."

Jason stared down at his shirt before giving Piper a shrug. "I'm just being supportive."

Piper gripped Nico's shirt, pushing him lightly towards the training areas. "Now, Percy should be doing a lesson right now. Go stare at your hot piece of man as he gets all sweaty. It'll be good for your motivation."

"I don't like where this is going," Nico mumbled as he stumbled away from the two.

As it turned out, Nico found himself being very thankful for the sunny and warm weather that the camp usually had. Why? Well, that would because Percy had decided to do his training with the younger campers without his shirt. And Nico just had to stop and truly appreciate the sight of how Percy looked with a thin layer of sweat covering his bare torso. The way Percy's stomach and arm muscles flexed as the demigod swung Riptide should have been illegal.

But Nico had to come down from his little paradise when he witnessed Percy knock a boy down by hitting the kid roughly in the center of his back. Nico pursed his lips and took a seat, deciding to watch things for a while. If Percy really was acting different, he needed to know just how bad Percy was.

After knocking the kid down, Percy offered the boy no help, only yelled at him to get back up. A few of his other students attempted to help by distracting Percy, but the Son of Poseidon easily dodged and knocked their blades aside as they came at him. Nico's breath hitched when Percy nearly caused a tall boy that could not have been much younger than Nico to nearly chop a girl's head off.

"Are you guys even trying?" Percy yelled, kicking one of the girls and sending her to the ground.

It bothered Nico to see the angry look in Percy's normally happy eyes. He had seen that look before, long ago in his own eyes. But what was Percy angry at? There was no threat, no one was trying to destroy the camps or wreak havoc on the world. So why was Percy like this?

Nico's eyes widened as Percy slammed his fist into the stomach of one of his students. The Son of Hades was out of his seat as soon as the kid hit the ground. Percy was too caught up in things, he wasn't thinking. Nico had seen that look before, many times when Percy was in the heat of battle. He wasn't separating real fighting from practice, and that could not end well.

Nico was right. Percy had his sword raised above his head, the boy that he had knocked down attempting to shield his head. Nico quickly jumped in the way, his sword making contact with Riptide. "I think they've had enough for the day, don't you?"

Riptide dropped from Percy's hands the Son of Poseidon stared down at his hands as if they belonged to a stranger. Nico sighed and nodded for the campers to leave. Not questioning the Son of Hades, all of the scattered towards the exit. Nico let out a sigh and scooped up Riptide, holding it out for Percy.

The older demigod smacked it away, turning his back to Nico. The pale boy blew out a breath. "Percy, what's wrong with you? You could have killed that kid."

"Sorry," Percy whispered.

Nico exhaled slowly. It looked like he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. He cared for Percy, Nico could admit that to himself and those like Jason now, and it hurt him to see Percy like this. Nico did not want to leave the Son of Poseidon alone if he was this bad. But it all felt so odd. Nico had never been one to directly step in and help. He had helped before in the past, or tried to do what he could, but Nico preferred acting from the shadows over direct confrontation.

Once again, Nico held Riptide out for Percy. "Take it."

For a moment, it did not look Percy was going to comply, but the Son of Poseidon let out a sigh and reached out. Riptide turned back into a pen and Percy slipped it into his pocket. "Thanks," the green-eyed demigod mumbled.

"Don't mention it." Nico slipped his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket. Over the years, he had finally grown into the jacket and it no longer looked as if it was about to swallow him whole. "So, why exactly are you being so hard on them?"

"They need to be ready."

Nico gave a slow nod. "I see. And what exactly do they need to be ready for? Last I checked, Gaea was asleep, and Kronos is not scheduled to reform for at least a few thousand years." The boy shrugged. "Not that it would matter so much, since you said that several of his Titans got swallowed by Tartarus."

Without looking at the Son of Hades, Percy brushed past Nico. Nico stumbled back as Percy's shoulder slammed into him. His dark eyes widened in surprise. "I don't want to talk about it out here," Percy grumbled as he headed for the exit.

Nico let out a sigh. Perhaps would be more open at movie night after dinner. The pale demigod shook his head, chewing on his lip. This was worse than he originally thought.

* * *

_So, um, yeah, the scene with the roses and Jason, Piper, and Aphrodite was the art that inspired this fic. If you haven't checked it out, you can probably locate it off of my favorites on deviantart. Also, Percy's quick friendliness towards Nico will be explained in the next chapter, so don't think him entirely out of character just yet. As for Nico, I tried to put a lot of thought into his character development, given two years passing and that he would be far away from Percy during that time. I figured he'd, for once, have a healthy mental growth. Though, as we can still see, he still has a hard time focusing around Percy. And I still try to keep his broody nature from the books. Hope you all didn't hate the chapter. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry this took so long, but here's the next chapter. Not much really to say, other than it'll probably end within three or so chapters. With this and my Jasico fic ending soon, I'll be starting on another project soon after that. Not sure what it'll be yet, either a zombie fic or an original story idea that I've had._

Chapter 4

If only they could have made it to the movie night in peace. Nico would have given anything for that. Instead, he found himself listening to things like:

"No way, Grace, Nico is on my time."

"Dream on, Jackson, Nico wants to be on my team. Right, Nico?"

They had been going back and forth like this since Chiron announced at dinner that they would have a game of capture the flag tonight. In other circumstances, Nico would have been relieved that people actually wanted him around for a change, since other cabins had also been arguing, but not this time. Mainly because the Athena cabin brought up the real reason everyone wanted Nico.

"He can just shadow travel to the flag!"

That just made Nico feel so appreciated as a person. But he didn't even feel like he had a choice in the matter. "Can't I just sit out?" He asked.

"No!" Jason and Percy snapped back at him, their eyes ablaze. The two of them still hadn't gotten over their little friendly competition thing, not even after two years. But did they really have to drag Nico into it?

Then, without warning, Jason just shrugged. "Okay, he can be on your team. But we get him next time." Percy grinned and threw his arm around Nico, sticking his tongue out at the blond. How mature, Nico thought. Nico glared at Jason, who shot him a grin and a thumbs up. Nico felt his eye twitch.

The jerk had planned this!

Walking away with Nico, Percy shot Jason a final victory grin. Nico shook his head. The idiot didn't even know he was being manipulated. Nico flinched when Percy pulled him closer. "So, how about this? You shadow travel the two of us in there and-"

"That's cheating, Percy," Nico mumbled.

The green-eyed demigod scratched his cheek with a pout. "Don't think of it that way. Think of it as...using your strengths to our advantage."

As it turned out, the enemy team had expected Percy's team to use Nico's powers to their advantage. As soon as Nico and Percy stepped out at the enemy flag, half of the enemy team jumped them. Not only that, but when Nico tried to grab the flag, he found himself suspended in the air by a rope. Jason ended up getting the drop on Percy with Clarisse, who managed to disarm the Son of Poseidon.

As Nico dangled there, he sighed and let his arms dangle effortlessly. Why did he let himself get involved in this stupid game? Jason smirked at the Son of Hades, tossing Percy's pen into the air. The smug look only served to annoy Nico further. If it wasn't for the blond, Nico wouldn't be in this mess. After all, it was because of Jason's pestering that Nico even tried to confess his feelings to Percy earlier that day.

"Sorry, Nico, can't let you just take the flag," the blond chuckled.

Nico just gave a dull nod, blinking. "Good job with that, I guess."

"Maybe next-"

"Too bad your flag just got taken."

"What?" Jason blinked and whirled around.

Sure enough, their flag was gone. Clarisse and the rest of the enemy team left to guard the flag was on the ground. A small skeleton army stood in the middle of the clearing, one of them holding Jason's team flag above its head. The Son of Jupiter just stood there and gawked at it. Before the blond could even draw his sword, the skeleton with the flag hopped onto the back of Mrs. O'Leary and bounded off into the darkness of the woods. Jason's mouth fell open. When he turned back around, Nico was gone from his rope prison.

"See ya, Grace," Nico called out, picking up Percy before disappearing into the nearest shadow.

The two appeared beside their flag, which had just been grabbed by Piper. Mrs. O'Leary came out of the woods, causing Piper to jump out of the way. Percy's team flag went flying through the air. Nico smiled innocently and reached up to take the enemy flag from the skeleton on top of Mrs. O'Leary. The Son of Hades patted the hellhound's nose.

"Good girl."

Nico lightly patted Percy's cheek, causing the demigod to snap awake. Rolling his eyes, Nico stuffed the flag in Percy's hands. "Wh-what?" Percy asked eloquently.

Nico let out a sigh. "Congratulations, you won. Can we go now?"

Ten minutes later, Nico found himself stuck between an annoying Son of Jupiter and an obnoxious Son of Poseidon. "How was that even fair?" Jason asked, his arms flailing.

"Suck on that, Grace!" Percy chuckled, throwing an arm around Nico's shoulders. "That was awesome, Nico." A faint blush appeared on the Son of Hades's cheeks. "Now for a nice, long shower and a victory movie with my MVP."

To Nico's horror, Percy reached back and yanked his shirt over his head, exposing his torso to the world. Before he could stop himself, Nico's eyes raked down Percy's exposed flesh. The brown-eyed boy's face only grew hotter. Jason saw this and nudged the shorter boy, shooting him a smirk. Nico glared up at the blond.

After a quick shower in his cabin, Nico changed into some fresh clothes. He was still uncertain if this was a good idea. Nico had been alone with Percy before, but it still made him uneasy to do so. What if he couldn't think of anything to say? What if they just sat there in an awkward silence?

Nico sighed at his reflection in the mirror. This wasn't a date, he reminded himself, he needed to calm down. But this was a little different. The last time Nico had been alone with the Son of Poseidon in his bedroom was after the incident in the labyrinth, and that had been back when Nico was just figuring out his infatuation with the green-eyed demigod.

Percy's hair was still wet when Nico arrived at the Poseidon cabin, which did not help Nico start things off. The boy's stomach tightened and his cheeks flared up. In silence, he slipped past Percy and sat down on the other demigod's couch. And like a child, the older demigod walked over and picked up a DVD, holding it just under his nose with a look of excitement.

Nico could feel his eye twitch as he took in the cover. "_Finding Nemo_? Are you freaking eight?"

Percy pouted and slipped the DVD in. "I like it." He plopped down next to Nico on the couch, extending his arm with the remote to turn on the TV. His pout only grew when Nico crossed his arms. "Come on, it's a good movie. Have you even seen it?"

"No," Nico mumbled. "I'd rather not change that trend."

"Please," Percy whined. The way he batted his eyelashes at the Son of Hades reminded Nico of a baby seal begging for help. Nico tensed up when Percy fell across his lap. "Come on, Nico, you'll enjoy it."

"If it'll make you get off me, fine." Nico sighed as the Son of Poseidon shot up with a victorious grin. How did Annabeth ever win a fight with this guy? It didn't seem possible for someone's eyes to go from being seductive to innocent, and then jump into this intense, heartfelt pleading look.

Percy threw a blanket across them, which Nico didn't really feel like he needed, but didn't push it away. But he could practically feel the heat radiating off of Percy's shoulder from how close the other demigod sat to him. There would be no concentrating on the movie for Nico, not with Percy sitting beside him.

As the DVD started, Percy hugged a pillow to his chest, only fueling Nico's theory that Percy was secretly still eight years old. How did Percy act more immature than him, when they were three years apart? Well, if he wanted to be technical, Nico was supposed to be in his seventies. That didn't make Nico feel weird at all, he thought sarcastically.

Nico watched Percy from the corner of his eye as the green-eyed youth skipped through the commercials. "Can I ask you something?" The Son of Hades asked. Percy grunted in response. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Percy froze, letting one of the commercials play, and turned to face Nico. "Well, I was trying to be nice before you ran off." His brow furrowed. "You didn't seem to want me to thank you for being nice to Bob, so I thought I'd try a different route. I should have been a better friend. I've been a pretty crappy friend, and probably to other people than you and Bob. I guess I got a little too consumed with quests and Annabeth." Nico noted that a faint blush appeared in Percy's cheeks. "But, here recently, I guess I was just scared you would run off again. So I thought that being nice would help." Percy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, not that I don't try to be nice to people in general."

The title menu popped up and Percy clicked the play button. Nico frowned at him. "Are you okay, Percy? The way you handled lessons earlier...it just didn't seem like something you would do."

"I'm fine," muttered Percy.

He wasn't sure if other people bought that, but Nico didn't. "I know all about telling people you're fine, when you're really not, Percy. You don't have to pretend with me, I get it." The younger boy's lips tilted down. "But I won't force you to talk about it, especially not to me. We're not that close, and that's pretty much my own fault. You shouldn't even try blaming yourself for that, I know it was my fault."

There was no answer. As the movie started, Percy looked away with a frown. Nico let out a sigh and settled in to watch the movie. There wasn't any point in pursuing the issue any further at this time. Percy was hurting himself, and only he could help himself in this situation. It was best to leave him alone and help only when Percy sought the help.

Nico found it very hard to concentrate on the movie, mainly due to Percy's laugh. It was like music to the Son of Hades's ears. It was also amusing to watch the Son of Poseidon get excited throughout the movie. In truth, Nico ended up watching Percy more than the movie itself. Nico just found the other more fascinating than the silly movie.

He had been hoping that it would be easier to be around Percy, after being gone for so long, but it wasn't. Every single move Percy made, Nico was aware of. But the distance was nearly unbearable for the younger demigod. It wasn't that he wanted Percy closer—well, he did, but that wasn't the point—it was that Percy sat too close for comfort. And what was worse, Percy didn't even seem bothered sitting so close. But, of course, Percy was completely oblivious to all of Nico's discomfort.

Even though it was practically torture for Nico, he still felt a little sad when the movie came to an end. He was beginning to remember why he thought it would be easier to keep Percy at a distance. Still, when Percy got up to take the movie out, Nico decided to stall his departure for a little longer.

"Can I ask you something?"

Percy blinked at the boy, slipping the DVD back into its case. "Sure. What's up?"

"Why did you ask me?" Nico looked down at his lap. "I mean, you have everyone else at camp, and you're closer to Jason, so why did you ask me to watch a movie with you?"

With a slight pout, Percy plopped back down on the couch, letting his arm rest across its back. "Why do I need a reason? Can't you and I just spend some time together?" The green-eyed demigod asked. Nico quirked a brow at the older demigod. Percy finally let out a sigh. "I'm just tired of everyone trying to comfort me. I'm tired of being looked up to like some hero."

"You are a hero, Percy," Nico mumbled.

Percy didn't seem to be amused. "Yeah, well, I don't feel like one. I screwed up, a lot. It cost a lot of lives. Your sister's included."

"Percy-"

The Son of Poseidon shook his head, lowering his gaze. "I'm tired of people feeling sorry for me." Percy sighed. "Or trying to move in on me, now that I'm single. All these girls, and even a few guys, I feel like a wounded animal being surrounded by vultures."

Nico arched a brow at that. "Guys?" He tilted his head to the side. Perhaps there was an easy way to find out a question that he had. "Would you even consider being with a guy?"

Percy blinked and looked up at Nico. His brow furrowed and eventually he shrugged. "I don't know, never really given it any thought." He let out a sigh. "I mean, before now, all I really considered was Annabeth." Nico watched as Percy's cheeks heated up. "Well, I mean, there was that brief period where I thought about dating Rachel, but that's long in the past. I guess that Annabeth was so involved in what was going on around me that I didn't really consider other possibilities. And then there were two wars that I got sucked into, so I didn't really have time to settle down. We—Annabeth and I, we didn't have time to try and settle down. Looking back on it, maybe that was the problem. We never had time to really consider if we both wanted the same things.

"Or maybe I just wasn't thinking about what I wanted. I just wanted a peaceful life for a change. I've practically grown up with nothing but fighting, ever since I was twelve." Percy let out a sigh. "And then, when things finally did settle down, Annabeth and I just drifted apart. I guess that was just another thing I screwed up with." The Son of Poseidon's eyes flickered over to Nico. "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. I don't know, maybe. I mean, the gods—well, mainly the guys—sort of had things with people of either gender." He shrugged lazily. "I've never really had an issue with two guys being together, as long as they were happy. It's just...I don't know." He frowned. "Why, does that bother you?"

Nico quickly shook his head. "No, I was just curious." He really wasn't sure if it made him feel better or not. It was nice to hear that Percy wouldn't rule out being with a guy, but it was something else entirely that Percy might somehow consider being with Nico. Percy was far out of his league, Nico had realized this a long time ago.

If they had grown up in a normal life, Nico figured he'd be the loner that nobody really ever talked to, and Percy would be the popular guy at school that everyone practically worshiped. And for two people like that to end up together was just a fairytale.

Percy was fidgeting when Nico looked back at him. His brow furrowed when he saw that Nico was staring at him. "Can I ask you something now?" The Son of Poseidon asked.

Nico gave a small nod. "Of course."

"Do you still have nightmares?" Percy shifted on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, about Tartarus. Do you still think about your time there? Does it still haunt you?"

Frowning, Nico clutched his jeans. "I...really don't want to talk about it." He looked up at Percy. "I'm sorry, it's just something I don't like to think about."

Percy slowly nodded. "Must have been hard, especially by yourself." He reached over and patted Nico's leg, which caused the Son of Hades to draw back. "Sorry."

Nico watched Percy from the corner of his eye. A sad and far off look filled the Son of Poseidon's sea-green eyes as he stared at a spot on the couch between the two of them. Was this what was bothering Percy? It was to be expected, Nico thought to himself. Percy had been down there longer than he had, and Nico still had nightmares himself. No one got over Tartarus.

Nico patted Percy's knee with a frown, climbing to his feet. "Maybe I'll feel like talking about it another time. For now, I think we could both use some sleep."

Percy blinked before jumping up after the younger demigod. "Um, wait, there was something else." Nico slowly turned around, practically at the door. "You're not, um, planning on running off again, are you?"

Nico tilted his head to the side. "I'm not sure. What does it matter? Are you trapping me here, or something?"

A soft chuckle escaped Percy's lips, causing Nico to blush. "No, nothing like that. It's just that...I was hoping you would stay this time. Here at camp, I mean." The green-eyed demigod cleared his throat. "It's just that, when school starts back, things tend to get pretty boring around here. Not many campers stay, aside from people like myself, Jason, Piper, Leo, and a few others."

Nico eyed him for a moment before shifting his weight. Reaching up, the boy brushed some hair out of his eyes. "I don't know." He bit down on his lip. "I'll think about it."

Percy smiled and nodded, which only served to make Nico blush more. This was not going to be easy, Nico thought. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to find the nearest shadow and disappear as far away as possible. And, yet, Nico wanted nothing more than to stay here, in Percy's cabin, forever. This couldn't be healthy, Nico thought to himself.

Nico looked down as he opened the door. Percy smiled and held the door open for him, but not before moving forward. Nico's eyes widened as Percy tried to envelope him into a hug, taking a step back. Nico held up a hand and pushed it against Percy's chest. The heat that he felt was nearly overwhelming, and the firmness of Percy's chest nearly drove him insane. When Percy frowned, Nico refused to look up. There was no way he could meet Percy's gaze without breaking and letting the Son of Poseidon give him a hug. It was something so simple, but Nico wasn't sure he could take it, even if Percy didn't mean anything by it.

That was the entire problem in the first place. Percy didn't mean anything by it.

Managing to slip past Percy, Nico offered the other demigod a small wave. "I'll see you later, Percy."

Percy just frowned and waved back as Nico took off walking towards the Hades cabin.

* * *

Around a week later, Nico found himself back inside Percy's cabin on a Saturday afternoon. Percy had the day off, since Chiron took some of the campers on a field trip. However, there were two downsides to this. The first was that Percy had come and banged on his door far too early for Nico's liking. Second, they were watching _Finding Nemo _again. This made the third time since Nico's return to camp.

However, this time, the two were splayed out on Percy's bed. The only comfort Nico found in this was from how Percy was positioned. The Son of Poseidon was on his stomach, legs in the air, and his head and arms resting on Nico's lower legs. It also happened to give Nico a nice view of Percy's butt, and partial view of the boy's blue boxers that were partially exposed where Percy's camp shirt rode up on him, as well as the hint of them poking out of one of the legs of his shorts.

Nico's head fell back against one of Percy's pillows with a groan. "Percy," he whined.

Without even taking his eyes off the screen, Percy raised a finger to his lips. "Shhhh! I love this part."

Nico's arm fell across Percy. "But you saw it like two days ago." Slowly, Nico banged his head against Percy's leg.

"Don't worry," Percy began, "_Finding Dory _will be out soon."

Oh dear gods, Percy was not going to be dragging him to see that movie. There was no way in Hades that he would subject himself to even more of this torture, even if the blue fish was his favorite character.

Letting out a groan, Nico slid down on the bed, fully aware of the fact that Percy was practically hugging his legs. This boy really needed to stop being so oblivious, it was painful. "Percy," Nico groaned, "if we stop watching the movie now, I'll have that talk about Tartarus with you."

It took all of two seconds for the movie to be put on pause and Percy to roll onto his side to face Nico. Why did Nico have to have a crush on such a child? Nico sighed and sat cross-legged on the bed. Percy just stared at him, eagerly waiting to hear what Nico had to say. The dark-eyed boy wanted to shake his head, but resisted the urge.

"I do still have nightmares," Nico finally confessed. "Truthfully, I don't really expect them to ever stop. I do think Will is right, you might have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but I don't think it's really going to be treatable. At least, not really. I expect these nightmares to stay with the two of us for the rest of our lives. But your regrets and these 'failures' that you feel you've caused, I think you can get over them."

Percy frowned. "I thought we were going to talk about your nightmares?"

Nico narrowed his eyes. "You know what I dream about, since you dream about the same thing."

"But I don't know what you-"

"Your worst fears." Nico tilted his head to the side. "There is nothing darker than what can be found in Tartarus, and the scars will linger for the rest of our lives. I'm sure you don't want to talk about your dreams, and neither do I." Percy frowned. Nico grinned a little. "But I will talk about how they make me feel. Maybe that can help you." He let out a sigh. "You don't need to beat yourself up so much, Percy. I don't blame you for Bianca's death anymore, I thought you knew that."

"I-" Percy frowned. "I don't know, I just wish I could have stopped her." Nico blushed when Percy rested his cheek on the pale demigod's legs. "And Bob..." He let out a long sigh. "I should have been a better friend to him, like you were. I never even visited him."

For a brief second, Nico's hand hovered over Percy's head. The boy pursed his lips before letting it rest in the older demigod's hair. "Well, I'd suggest not repeating the same mistake with your current friends. Percy, they are worried about you. Pushing them away isn't solving anything."

The Son of Poseidon pouted up at him. "When did you get so insightful? What happened to the quiet boy that lurked in the shadows and nearly gave Leo and Frank heart attacks when you snuck up on them?"

Rolling his eyes, Nico smirked. "Except for you."

Percy grinned. "That's because I still remember the ten year old boy that played Mythomagic. Your little scare tactics will not work on me, Mr. di Angelo."

"Uh-huh." Nico leaned back on his palms. Part of him wanted to shove Percy off of him, as the older demigod practically had his head in Nico's lap, but Nico couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew he would never be able to have anything more with Percy, so this would have to be enough. "Well, this little boy can still send you dropping into the Underworld."

"Bring it," Percy teased, sticking out his tongue. Nico couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have Percy in a better mood. And if he could help with that, it only made Nico happier. Percy finally removed his head from Nico's legs and sat up. "Hey, do you want to go for a walk with me? I'm kind of hungry, so maybe we could get something to eat."

* * *

The two ended up near the strawberry fields with a small lunch. Percy had gotten two sandwiches and a bag of chips, while all Nico had picked up had been a peach. Percy watched the other demigod curiously as they sat in the grass. "You look healthier, but you still eat so little."

Nico smirked without looking back at Percy. "I'm just saving my appetite for dinner, since this is a late lunch." The Son of Hades turned the peach over in his hand. "I have gotten better about eating, it was just that I had to recover from being in that jar for so long."

Percy arched a brow. "And yet you ate pomegranate seeds, the very thing you survived on in that jar." Percy stuck out his tongue and stuck another chip in his mouth. It was nice to see Nico smile again. Aside from the extremely rare moments during the war with Gaea, the last time Percy had seen Nico really smile was back before he lost Bianca.

Nico let out a sigh, letting the hand holding the fruit drop to his lap. "Can I ask why Bob bothers you so much? I feel like it has led to all these other issues you're experiencing. Why do you feel so guilty about it?"

Percy frowned. He had been about to take a bite of his sandwich, but Nico's words made him put it back down. "I should have visited him."

"You were taken away from camp by a manipulating goddess that wiped your memory, Percy."

"Before that." The Son of Poseidon scrunched his lips. "I could have visited him, but I didn't. I just left him there, but you took the time out to visit him." Percy looked up to meet Nico's unreadable gaze. "Yet again, another instance where I got so consumed with Annabeth. We had just gotten together when the Titan War ended, so I wasn't really thinking about anything else. I even got lazy with a lot of my training to go on random dates with her in places like France."

Nico arched a brow at him. "It kind of sounds like you are saying you regret your relationship with Annabeth."

Percy pulled his legs up to his chest with a frown. "I don't know. Maybe I should have just focused better." He shook his head. "I mean, if I had been paying better attention, I could have noticed the webbing attached to Annabeth's leg. I could have stopped-"

"Percy," Nico frowned at him. "You really need to stop beating yourself up. Everything worked out in the end, there's no point in wondering what could have been done differently."

The Son of Poseidon wasn't really convinced. "But some of those times could have saved lives," Percy argued. "I let them down, and I just want the other campers to do better if they are ever met with those same decisions."

"Ah." Nico tilted his head to the side. "So is that why you're so hard in your lessons?" The younger demigod eyed his fruit. "Percy, you have to realize that's not healthy for them."

Before Percy could answer, a shadow appeared over them. The two looked up to find a smiling Piper in a straw hat. She pulled a pair of gloves off of her hands, probably having just come from picking strawberries. "Hey, guys, what are you two doing?"

"Just talking," Percy added quickly.

Nico let out a sigh. "A little about Tartarus, stuff like that." His dark eyes flickered over to where Percy sat. "Thought it might do him some good to get it off his chest."

Piper frowned a little. "You know, Percy, you could have always talked to us about it." She placed her hands on her hips with a lopsided smile. "But at least you have someone to talk to." Then she smirked at Nico, who shot her a glare. "As you were, boys."

Percy watched her go for a while before taking a big bite of his sandwich. "What was that about?"

Nico stared down at the peach. "Not a clue," he muttered.

As Nico finally took a bite of his fruit, Percy found himself staring at the younger demigod. He hadn't wanted to say it in front of Piper, but Percy felt the others couldn't understand what he was going through. Perhaps Nico could, since he had also gone through Tartarus. He just hadn't wanted to burden Annabeth with problems that he had originally thought he could handle on his own. And by the time Percy realized that it wouldn't be the case, the void had already been created between the two of them.

Nico blinked when he found Percy staring at him. He frowned and held the peach out to the Son of Poseidon. "Want a bite?"

Percy rubbed his arm, frowning. "Um, I'm not going to end up trapped in the Underworld, am I?" He asked hesitantly.

The smirk that appeared on Nico's lips caused a slight blush to appear in Percy's cheeks, which kind of threw him off. Nico took another bite, his teeth sinking in deep. "Why, would you want to be my prisoner?" He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Don't be silly, I couldn't tolerate having you at my side for so many months a year. Besides, this isn't even a pomegranate, so I don't think you have to worry about any of its seeds."

"Yeah, but-"

Nico narrowed his gaze. "If you ask me if I can enchant any fruit to do that, I will smack you."

It took Percy a moment, but he finally caught sight of the amusement in the younger demigod's eyes. "Jerk." Chuckling, Percy accepted the fruit and took a small bite. He blinked when Nico intently watched him take the bite, practically in a trance. Reaching up, Percy wiped the juice of his lips and handed the peach back to Nico. "Thanks." He leaned back on his palms. "Have you thought any more about staying on year-round?"

Nico looked up at Percy for a moment. "I haven't decided yet." He watched the Son of Poseidon cautiously before he continued. "I'm not exactly the most liked person around camp."

"Yeah, but I think people are a little more comfortable with you after you helped bring back the statue." Percy shot the other boy a smile. "It would be nice to have you around on a permanent basis."

The Son of Hades rolled his eyes. "You still have Jason, what do you need me for?"

"You're just nice to have around, to talk to." Percy looked up at the sky, squinting one of his eyes from the sun. "I feel like you're one of my regrets. We should have been better friends."

There was an awkward silence that fell over the two demigods. Nico wouldn't look at him, and Percy almost thought Nico might disappear. But he didn't. The Son of Hades let out a heavy sigh. "You don't have to do that, I don't need the pity."

"It's not." Percy brow furrowed. "Do you not want us to be friends? Just because our dads don't get along, doesn't mean we shouldn't."

"Sorry," Nico muttered. "I didn't mean it like that." He shot Percy a weak smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."

And that was the end of the conversation. Nico went back to eating his peach, and Percy picked up his second sandwich. At least it was a start, Percy thought to himself as his eyes stared at the pale boy in front of him. As Nico's teeth sank into the fruit, Percy's sea-green eyes unconsciously drifted down to the boy's mouth.

The juice left behind a glossy shine to the boy's lips, which stood out in the bright sunlight. And then Nico took another bite. It was a little fascinating to watch the demigod's teeth sink into it and more juice spread across his lips.

When Nico wrapped up the peach seed, Percy realized he had been staring far too long. A heavy blush crept onto his cheeks. Checking to make sure Nico hadn't noticed, Percy looked back at the boy from the corner of his eye. Nico pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Nico had really grown up. He was still a teenager, but the Son of Hades was definitely not the ten year old kid Percy had met all those years ago.

Nico's eyes flickered over to him and Percy blushed again. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Percy quickly muttered. He coughed and looked away. What was wrong with him? It was just Nico, the kid he had met all those years ago. Nico was like a little brother to him, right? He blinked and his eyes fell back to the boy's lips. This was the kid that talked too much and asked far too many questions for his own good. Just a kid, Percy reminded himself before his mind went places he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. Nico was around sixteen now, and Percy would turn twenty at the end of the summer.

This was the same kid that had the crush on Annabeth. The kid that betrayed Percy to his father, who lied to Percy and said that he didn't know Percy. This was the kid Percy had thought disliked him, who he was still afraid did. This was the same Nico that Percy had rescued from Dr. Thorn. Nico was still that same kid in Percy's eyes, like his little brother.

Right?


End file.
